Dangerously Close
by Toasted Marshmallow
Summary: 17 year old Atobe Keigo finds himself targeted in the midst of a big business power struggle. With the unfortunate loss of his last bodyguard, a replacement had to be found quickly. The replacement's name is Sanada Genichiroh...TangoPair, AU, multichapter
1. Welcome to the Mansion

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. You're not allowed to sue me. So there:P

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai and non-explicit yaoi.

**Author's Notes: **This is my most interesting idea for a fanfic ever. I know I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one. Keep in mind that it is an AU... You should see my weird cast of characters. XD All of Rikkai are people involved with Sanada somehow, I have something special planned for Seigaku, and everyone else ended up as various servants in Atobe's house. And just to make it easier/weirder/more interesting, I've made a few random characters female. XD Just because I couldn't deal with a cast of 100 guys. So watch out for that, and... don't kill me. XD

Please enjoy! Tell me what you think!

* * *

"Seventeen years of martial arts training, four years of firearm experience, and an internship with the police…" Oshitari placed the piece of paper he was holding onto his desk and peered over the rims of his glasses at the man sitting across from him. "Impressive resume."

"Thank you, sir." The man nodded once and continued to sit very stiffly in his chair.

"'Sanada', is it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me, Sanada…" Oshitari pushed up his spectacles and clasped his hands together. "Why are you here?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I mean, why did you apply to be Master Keigo's personal bodyguard?"

Sanada shifted, but gave a very confident answer. "Frankly, sir, because it pays well."

Oshitari smiled. "Blunt and honest… I like that." He picked up the resume again. "Well, you certainly seem qualified for the job."

There was a short silence. Oshitari looked back up at Sanada.

"Are you really sure you _want _this job? I mean, what with the unfortunate loss of the previous holder of the position… You would—"

"I'm not afraid to die," Sanada said forcefully.

Oshitari held eye contact for a few more moments. Then he stood up. "As far as I'm concerned, you're hired. But I'll need to consult the master of the house. Come with me."

Sanada got up and followed the head of the guard down the hall. Oshitari stopped in front of two large wooden doors and knocked on them.

"Atobe-sama?"

"Come in, Oshitari."

Oshitari opened the door to reveal a large library, furnished with endless rows of shelves and a large desk in the center. Behind the desk was a rather imposing, busy-looking man with dark grey hair.

"What is it, Oshitari?"

"I found a replacement for Tachibana."

Atobe (1) stood and started to make his way around the desk. "It certainly didn't take you long. No wonder I hired you." This caused a smile to appear on the face of Sanada's blue-haired companion. The master of the house continued by asking, "Is this him?"

"Yes, sir."

Atobe looked Sanada over. Then he leaned closer to Oshitari and muttered, quite audibly, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Certainly, sir. Sanada, you'll excuse us?"

"Of course, sir." Sanada bowed sort of awkwardly and left the room, careful to shut the door behind him.

"What is it sir?" Oshitari asked when he was gone.

Atobe watched his own fingers tap on his desk. "I'm not sure this man will be a good… fit."

"What do you mean, sir? I think he'll—"

"He's a little young, maybe," Atobe interrupted, obviously trying to imply something.

Oshitari gave a wary nod, not sure what his boss was trying to get at. "He's only twenty-two, but he has quite an impressive resume. And I think he'll fit in very nicely."

"I see…" Atobe considered this for a moment. "Maybe we don't want him to fit in… _too _nicely."

Oshitari narrowed his eyes, still trying to understand the subtle implication. After remaining silent for too long, he finally conceded, "I don't understand what you mean, sir."

His boss stepped closer, and looked around as if he thought someone might be listening. Quietly, he explained, "I don't want my son to get… _attached._"

Oshitari smiled, suddenly understanding. "You won't have to worry about that, sir," he retorted brightly. "This man has the personality of cardboard."

Atobe sighed and put his hands behind his back. "I'll trust you then, Oshitari. Tell him he's hired. He'll have to start tomorrow."

"Very good, sir." Oshitari bowed and left the room.

"Congratulations." He held his hand out to Sanada once he closed the door. "You're hired."

Sanada shook it quickly and firmly. "Thank you, sir."

"Follow me and listen carefully." Oshitari began again down the hall back towards his office. "Because the sudden lack of protection is an inconvenience to our young master, you'll be starting tomorrow. That's not a problem?"

It was more of a command than a question. Sanada swallowed. "No, sir."

Oshitari pulled out a map of the mansion from his desk drawer. "You will show up promptly at five o'clock tomorrow morning. By that, I mean that you will be inside the front doors precisely when the clock strikes five, not at the gate. Someone will be there to show you to your room, and you will leave your things there. You will not have time to unpack. Your uniform and equipment will be in the closet. (I'll need your shirt, jacket, and pants sizes. Fill this out, please.) You will get dressed and join us for breakfast at five-thirty in the servants' dining hall, here. (Your room is here.) You'll only have twenty minutes to eat. You'll then accompany young Master Keigo into town to go shopping. He's asked to have the car ready to leave the estate at exactly six o'clock. Take this hallway, here, out to the front driveway, and wait for him in front of the limosine. Any questions?"

Sanada took the map from Oshitari's hands, quickly trying to make sense of all the red circles and lines. "No, sir."

"Good. Since you'll have no time tomorrow morning, I'll have to explain the rules of the house to you right now." Oshitari pulled out another piece of paper. Sanada tried to hide his discomfort. "Do exactly as you are told. Never ask questions. Only speak when spoken to. Always address the masters as 'sir' and the mistress as 'madam.' Maintain eye contact when they are speaking. Don't touch anything unless you have permission. Don't touch the walls or windows. Servants are not allowed in certain areas of the house. (Hand me your map.) You may not go here, here, here, here, or anywhere in this wing. Unless, of course, there is some reason Master Keigo wishes you to accompany him to these places. Meals are at five-thirty, noon, and six o'clock. Be prompt or you will not be fed. Servants are not allowed to leave their rooms between the hours of midnight and three o'clock in the morning. Except, in your case, when the security alarm goes off. Then you must immediately go to Master Keigo's room and guard him until everything's clear. Take no more than thirty seconds to get there. Always be prepared to be on duty."

Oshitari handed the map and the list of rules to Sanada, who took them reluctantly. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes. I'll have someone show you out."

To say that Sanada left feeling overwhelmed was an understatement. He took a taxi cab home, wondering the whole way what the next day might hold.

…

Ootori stepped cautiously into Oshitari's office.

"You wanted to see me, Oshitari-san?"

"Ah, yes, Ootori." The head servant stopped what he was doing and looked up. "Please tell young Master Keigo that his shopping trip may go according to his schedule. We found a replacement for Tachibana."

Ootori blinked. "So soon?"

Oshitari pushed up his glasses with a smirk on his face. "You may save your praises for later. I'm sure Master Keigo will want to be informed right away."

"Of course, sir." Ootori left the room.

On his way to Keigo's bedroom, he stopped by the kitchen. He was greeted by a servant who worked there. "A glass of water, right?"

"As always," Ootori replied with a smile. He leaned in the doorway slightly, looking around the room. All the kitchen servants were busy cleaning up from dinner.

"Looking for something, Ootori-san?"

He snapped to attention. "No! No… sorry…" Scratching the back of his neck, he quietly stuttered, "It's just that… Well, is…? Never mind." He took the glass of water. "Thank you, Taki."

Taki shook his head knowingly as he watched Ootori disappear down the hallway.

Ootori knocked on the open door of his master's bedroom. "Master Keigo?"

"Ah, Ootori." Keigo was sitting on the edge of his huge bed. He put down the book he was reading.

"Your water, sir." Ootori handed him the glass.

"Thank you."

"I've been told to inform you that a new bodyguard has been hired, and he's starting tomorrow. Which means that you can go shopping like you planned."

Keigo lowered the glass away from his lips and set it on his lap, holding it with both hands. His eyes were far away.

Ootori leaned closer. "Sir?"

Keigo looked up, and his expression changed in an instant. "That's wonderful. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait long. But I was beginning to think that I'd be stuck at home _again_ tomorrow." He set his water on his nightstand. "If you get the chance, thank Oshitari for me."

Ootori nodded. "Of course, sir."

Keigo fingered the cover of his book. "This new bodyguard… What's he like?"

"I'm sorry, sir; I didn't ask. I don't know anything about him."

Keigo sighed, and his voice quieted a little. "You know, Ootori… no one could ever really replace Kippei."

Ootori placed his hands behind his back and looked at his shoes. "I understand, sir."

Keigo chuckled softly. "Do you?"

Ootori glanced up. His master wouldn't look at him. "I… suppose not, sir."

Keigo smiled for a second, nodding. "I miss him," he whispered.

"I know," Ootori whispered back.

"In any case…" Keigo looked up with a smile. "You may go, Ootori. Thank you."

Ootori smiled back and bowed slightly. "You're welcome, sir. Call me if you need anything else."

"Will do."

Before Ootori closed the door, he looked back at his young master. Keigo had already returned to his reading.

"Sweet dreams, Master Keigo," he whispered.

…

Sanada glanced around at his empty, one-room apartment.

Somehow, it seemed less lonely when his stuff was no longer in it.

He'd fit everything except his clothes in the same cardboard box he'd used to move in. As for the things in his dresser, he knew those could fit in his large suitcase. He began with the bottom drawer and worked his way up. One by one, his drawers became empty. When he was almost done getting the socks out of the top one, he stopped.

Since when had he put that photograph in there?

He pulled it out carefully, as if afraid that he would hurt it if he handled it too roughly. When he had first moved in, he had set the picture on top of his dresser. He must have moved in into the drawer after realizing that it was too hard to look at.

Sanada set the photo on the dresser and dug around in the drawer again. Sure enough, he'd put the candle in there too. He set it next to the picture. He finished stuffing socks in his suitcase and dove into his box, looking for a lighter. He found a box of matches instead. Silently, he lit the candle. Then he re-packed the matches and sat on his bed, facing the dresser.

It had been more than two years now.

He wanted to get over it, wanted to put his sadness behind him and be able to cherish the memory instead. But every time he tried, what happened was just the opposite. It seemed that all he could do was come closer to forgetting, and still the ache remained.

Sanada glanced at the clock. It was late, and he had an early day tomorrow. Regretfully, he blew out the candle and packed it and the picture in his suitcase. He set his alarm and tried to get some sleep.

He was awakened not by his alarm clock, but by a knock on the door. He rubbed his eyes and checked the time. 3:59. He switched off the alarm and got up.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by a glare. "I hate you," his friend declared.

"You're early…" Sanada noted, not quite sure how else to respond.

His friend peeked around him at the clock. "What do you know? A whole minute! Whoop-dee-do." The clocked changed. "Whoops. Not anymore. Now I'm a second late."

Sanada stepped aside. "Thanks for doing this, Kirihara."

"Yeah, well, you're not so welcome. You're lucky to have me as a friend. Not everyone would get up at three o'clock in the morning to help someone carry a box." Kirihara leaned down to pick it up.

Sanada stopped him. "Actually, that box is pretty heavy… I'll take it. You can take the suitcase… thanks."

Kirihara took the handle and looked his friend over. "Slept in your clothes. How… efficient."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to get up any earlier than I had to."

"Don't blame you. Me? I'm going back to sleep as soon as I get home. I don't have class until one."

"That must be nice."

"Trust me, it is. So, have you cleared everything at the police station?"

"Yeah, I called and told them about my new job. Nioh-san said he'd take care of the paperwork for me."

Kirihara looked around the room. "What about all this furniture and bedding and stuff? I mean, I know you won't need it, but…"

Sanada looked down at his bed, then back at Kirihara. "Well, I figured you could have it. You know, for helping me. Keep whatever you want and sell the rest. I honestly don't care what happens to it."

Kirihara whistled. "Man. I should help you more often."

The two of them walked basically in silence down to the parking lot. A cab was waiting there. They placed the box and the suitcase into the open trunk.

Kirihara closed it and turned to his friend. "Well. This is it, I guess." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Good luck with your new job, new life… all that."

"Thanks," Sanada replied without smiling.

Kirihara inwardly sighed at his utter lack of enthusiasm. "I'll take care of everything here. Call me whenever. Just not too early in the morning." He patted Sanada on the shoulder.

"I won't. Thank you, Kirihara." Sanada opened the cab door for himself. "See you."

"See you."

The door shut and the taxi drove away. Kirihara stood there, watching it go. Somehow, he doubted that his friend would ever call him. It was even likely that he would never see Sanada again.

He sighed.

_Maybe he can finally move on._

…

Sanada's cab drove up to the gate of the Atobe mansion forty-five minutes later.

"Your name, sir?" a voice said over the speaker.

Sanada leaned slightly out the window. "Sanada Genichiroh."

"Ah, Sanada-san. You're early." The gate opened. "Drive up to the front."

As they were driving up to the house—if it could be called a house—Sanada marveled once again at how huge the estate was. The front gardens and the driveway stretched for a long distance, and amazingly he'd heard that the yard behind the house was even bigger.

The cab stopped. Sanada paid the driver and got out. He was met by a young-looking boy with a bellhop cart.

The boy looked up at Sanada with huge brown eyes. "Can I help you with your things, Sanada-san?"

"Sure, thanks."

The boy went to the trunk and tried lifting the box, but to no avail. "Here, let me get it." Sanada picked it up and set it onto the cart.

"Thank you, desu." The boy held out his hand sheepishly. "My name's Dan Taichi. I'll be showing you to your room."

Sanada shook Dan's hand lightly. Then he took his suitcase and followed him inside.

As they came through the front hall, they were stopped by a voice. "Sure, Dan. Don't introduce me."

The boy whirled around. "So sorry, desu! Sanada-san, this is Saeki Kojiroh-san. He's our doorman. It was his voice you probably heard over the speaker at the gate."

Sanada held out his hand to the nice-looking man with white hair. Saeki cheerfully shook it. "Nice to meet you, Sanada-san."

"Likewise."

"Make yourself at home here."

"I will, thank you."

Dan and Sanada continued their trek down long hallways. The servants' quarters looked a lot like a fancy hotel. Dan stopped in front of a room marked "72" and opened the door. After doing so, he gave the key to Sanada. "This is your room, Sanada-san."

Sanada looked inside. The room was smaller than his apartment, but much nicer. He rolled his suitcase into the closet and went to get his box.

Dan was opening the curtains. "You're lucky. You get a nice view of the front yard. Half of us get stuck looking across a small courtyard at other servants' rooms."

Sanada looked out the window. Just outside, he could see part of the huge koi pond that snaked around the garden. There was a cherry blossom tree to the left of his window. It wasn't in bloom, but he supposed it would be very pretty when it was.

"Is there anything else you need, Sanada-san?"

He shook his head. "No. Thank you."

The boy looked at his watch. "Breakfast is in thrity minutes. See you then!"

Sanada was now alone in the room. He took in his new surroundings.

He could definitely get used to living here.

He peeked into his bathroom. How could these people afford to give every servant their own bathroom?

Sanada walked over to the closet, where he could see his uniform hanging. He actually had two, which he supposed was very handy when you had to wear it every day. It was very basic: black pants, black jacket, black tie, white shirt. Sitting on the floor was a pair of black shoes. On the top shelf, he discovered a pair of sunglasses and a belt furnished with a gun. He removed the firearm and looked at it. Nice piece of machinery. Fully loaded, too.

Sanada took his time getting dressed. The suit fit remarkably well. As he was putting on his belt, he noticed a note on his nightstand and walked over to read it. Beside it lay a wallet and an earpiece. Before reading the note, Sanada opened the wallet. Inside was a credit card and a badge that would allow him to enter almost anywhere fully armed.

The note read:

"_Sanada-_

_I hope you've found everything to your liking. Here is your equipment. Hook the earpiece to your cell phone, and if you ever need to contact us, just press the button on the side. Keep the wallet and badge with you at all times. Inside you'll find a credit card. All of your pay will be deposited directly into that account. We find this system easier than dealing with hundreds of checks every week._

_Enjoy your breakfast. Remember: be ready and waiting in front of the limosine at five 'til six. And try not to get shot on your first day._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Oshitari Yuushi,_

_Director of the Guard"_

Sanada winced. The man had a strange sense of humor.

He finished getting ready and looked at his watch. It couldn't hurt to show up to breakfast a bit early. And who knew how long it would take to find the dining hall…

When he reached the door, he turned back. It felt like something was missing.

As a complete afterthought, Sanada opened his suitcase. His katana was lying at the bottom. He took it out carefully and tied it onto his belt. Then he walked out the door and headed down the hallway.

* * *

Hope you liked it! Next chapter should be out soon.

Notes...

(1) I'm referring to Atobe as "Keigo" and his father as "Atobe." It's just easier that way. So whenever you see "Atobe," it's not the same Atobe we all know and love.


	2. Not the Same

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If I did, Sanada _would _totally be my bodyguard.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai and mild, non-explicit yaoi.

**Author's Notes: **Yes… chapter two. Enjoy this one, I enjoyed writing it. XD

* * *

Ootori always liked to get to meals a little early. When he got to the dining hall, he would always stand by the door, watching the servants set the tables. Then he would always strategically choose a spot and sit down.

As he was sitting, he watched the entrance. It didn't take long for other hungry and yawning servants to start filtering through. Ootori enjoyed his people-watching. He suddenly noticed a tall, dark-haired man who had walked through the door. The man looked around a little awkwardly.

Ootori left his jacket on his chair and quickly went to his rescue. "You look lost. You're new?"

The man looked at him steadily. "Yes."

"Are you, by any chance, Master Keigo's new bodyguard?"

He perked up a bit. "Yes, I am."

Ootori held out his hand. "I'm his butler, Ootori Choutarou."

"Sanada Genichiroh." Sanada had a very firm handshake. "Nice to meet you."

Ootori gave him his brightest smile. "We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other. You know, since we both work for the same person."

"I'm glad I've already met you, then." Sanada looked about him again. "Is there any sort of seating arrangement? Or…"

Ootori laughed a little. "Nope. Just sit wherever you want." After a moment, he asked, "Would you like to sit with me, perhaps?"

Sanada nodded. "Sure." They sat down. Sanada couldn't help noticing that, though most of the other tables were full, no one else sat down at their table. In a way, he was grateful for that, since he would be able to ask Ootori questions without getting interrupted.

Sanada took a moment to observe the scene. While he was doing so, he noticed Oshitari coming out of the kitchen doors with a plate of food.

Ootori saw where he was looking. "Oshitari-san usually takes his food back to his office."

Sanada looked back at his companion. "He must be a really busy man."

"He is. He's in charge of basically all the servants' affairs. Not to mention he's in charge of security. Which has been an especially taxing job, lately…"

Before Sanada had a chance to ask why that was, a brown-haired servant wearing a black vest and an apron came by and placed a plate of food in front of him and Ootori.

Ootori looked up at the visitor. "Hi," he said quietly.

The waiter smiled sheepishly. "Oh… hey." And then he was gone.

Sanada tried to hide his curiousity. "So… Oshitari told me that if you were late for meals, you wouldn't get any food. Is that true?" he asked, mentally noting the still-steady stream of people trickling in.

Ootori snapped his glance back to Sanada. "Oh! No. Not really. They're actually pretty lenient. Sometimes they'll snap at you, but it's not like they'll make you go hungry. And they'll be especially lenient with you, or at least they were with Tachibana. Sometimes Master Keigo would keep him a little too long and he'd be late."

"That makes sense…" Sanada replied, trailing off a bit. "Anything else I should know?"

"Hm." Ootori looked around the room, searching for ideas. "Stay away from the maids; they're all sluts. Unless of course you like that, in which case say 'hi' and they're yours." He laughed at his own joke. "But you don't strike me as that type of person."

Sanada swallowed his food. "How could you tell?"

Ootori just laughed in response. "Let's see… What else? Oh, yes. Quiet hours mean nothing. No one listens to them; everyone's in and out of their rooms all night…"

Ootori proceeded to talk Sanada's ear off with trivial tips and hints for nearly fifteen minutes. They were all things that seemed good to know, but Sanada wasn't so sure they'd be helpful to him at the moment. And there was still one thing that he really wanted to know.

"What about Master Keigo? What's he like?" he asked when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Master Keigo? You'll like him."

The waiter came by again, asking Sanada, "You done with that?"

Sanada leaned back. "Yes. Thank you."

The waiter turned to Ootori. "You done?"

Ootori took one last quick bite. "Mm. Yes." He handed his plate over. "You sure you can get it, Shishido-san?"

"Yeah, I got it." The waiter skillfully stacked it on top of the many plates he was already carrying.

"Thank you," Ootori said as he was walking away.

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "You know him well?"

"Huh? Oh. No…" Ootori ran his fingers through his hair. Sanada noticed a light pink color appearing on his cheeks. "I don't really talk to him much. I just asked his name once."

Sanada wisely decided not to ask for any more information. He looked at his watch. "I have to go, Ootori-san. Thanks for all the advice."

Ootori looked at his own watch. "Oh, I'd better go, too. If Master Keigo's getting ready, he might need me for something. I'll walk with you."

Ootori took Sanada back to the front doors and left him there to go up to Keigo's room. When Sanada opened the right door and stepped outside, he found a huge stretch limo waiting there. The chauffer was standing in front of it.

"Ah, right on time," the man said. "Excuse me, I've forgotten your name. Someone told me, but I sometimes have short-term memory loss."

"Sanada Genichiroh." Sanada smiled a little and held out his hand. How many people could a person meet in one day?

"Kajimoto Takahisa, Master Keigo's personal chauffer. Nice to meet you."

There was a pause. Sanada faced the door.

"I hope you're comfortable standing," Kajimoto said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't expect Master Keigo for at least a half an hour. He likes everything to be ready for him long before he himself is ready."

"I see." Sanada adjusted his stance and looked towards the ground. "What's he like, anyway? I haven't heard much about him."

Kajimoto smiled softly. "In a word? Charming. But if you want a longer explanation, he's quite hard to describe." The chauffer placed his hands behind his back. "He's a little eccentric. And he's kind, but he has an ego the size of the Pacific Ocean. I suppose I would too, if my father owned half of Japan."

"How old is he? I forgot to ask."

"Seventeen."

Sanada didn't reply. Kajimoto turned to look at him.

"I suppose I'm not the first to ask this, but… why are you carrying a sword?"

Sanada looked up. "Actually, you are the first to ask."

Kajimoto raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes." He looked back down again. "I'm not really sure why I decided to bring it. I guess I'm just more comfortable with my sword than with a gun, at least for close combat."

Kajimoto nodded. "That makes sense."

Sanada turned. "So, is there anything else I need to know about Master Keigo?"

The chauffer thought about this for a moment. "Well, first thing's first: put on your sunglasses. Master Keigo's always had this thing about the glasses. He constantly nagged Tachibana for forgetting to put them on. No one's sure why; maybe he just thought it was entertaining."

Sanada reached into his coat pocket and took out his dark glasses. Then he put them on. "Anything else?"

"Well… let's see. Always look at him when he's speaking. He doesn't like talking to people that are so timid that they can't look him in the eye. Or at least he said that once. Let him get in the car first; that's what he's used to. Sit across from him, not beside him." Kajimoto adjusted his hat. "That's about all I know."

There was a long silence.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Kajimoto said with a hint of humor in his voice, obviously implying that they would be waiting a while.

After more than thirty minutes of alternating bouts of silence and useless chatter (mostly supplied by Kajimoto), Atobe Keigo finally showed up with Ootori close behind.

The seventeen-year old was giving his butler a small string of commands. "…And have a snack waiting for me when I get home, sometime later this afternoon. I don't care what it is; you know what I like. I might come home earlier. Make sure the maids have my bed done before noon today. Lately, they've gotten later and later with that…"

Sanada stood stiffly, observing his new boss. Keigo was pale, not very tall, and had silvery-purple hair. He held himself in a way that could only be described as beautiful, though it was quite over-the-top. His sharp, slate-blue eyes now turned to look in Sanada's direction. Sanada stood up straighter, if that were possible.

"Hello, who is this?" Keigo put his hands on his hips. "My new bodyguard, I presume?"

Ootori took the liberty of making the introduction, for which Sanada was very grateful. "Yes, sir. Sanada Genichiroh."

Sanada held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

There was a short pause, during which Keigo looked at Sanada's hand, then back up at his face. The young man smiled, almost smirked. Then he shook Sanada's hand. "Pleasure's all mine… Sanada."

Sanada bowed a little as his hand was being shaken. As Keigo was getting into the car, he turned and whispered to Kajimoto, "I wasn't supposed to shake hands… was I?"

Kajimoto nodded once, trying not to smile. "You were simply supposed to bow."

"Right." Sanada sighed and followed Keigo into the limo.

Kajimoto leaned over quickly to Ootori. "Then again, I don't think our young master really minded."

Ootori grinned. "He certainly didn't seem to."

"Kajimoto?" Keigo leaned out the door.

"Coming, sir." Kajimoto went to close it. Then he walked around the front of the car and sat in the driver's seat. Sanada saw Ootori wave as they drove away.

Keigo crossed his legs gracefully and folded his arms across his chest. "'Sanada', is it?"

Sanada turned from the window to look at him. "Yes, sir."

"Take off your glasses. Let me have a look at you."

Sanada felt his eyebrow twitch, but he did as he was told. He looked Keigo in the eye a moment longer, but turned back to look out the window when it became apparent that the young man didn't intend on saying anything more.

Keigo narrowed his eyes.

_He's so stiff-looking._

He cocked his head a bit to one side. This man was the polar opposite of Tachibana. Well, maybe not _completely _different, but certainly not what he was used to. Sanada was taller, more serious, and… was that a _sword _hanging on his left side?

Keigo couldn't help it. Something about this guy was making him smile.

The new bodyguard had a certain sense of pride, almost arrogance about him. One would never be able to tell by just listening to him, hearing the polite way he said, "Yes, sir." But Keigo could see it in his entire countenance. Tachibana had been the same way, but not to the same extent.

Sanada watched trees and buildings go by, trying not to let Keigo's constant stare bother him. The term "servant" hadn't disturbed him until this moment. Now he wasn't sure if he could get used to it. Nevertheless, he had taken the job, and now he was at the mercy of the over-confident seventeen-year-old sitting across from him.

On the other hand, he knew he wouldn't care enough to talk back.

The silence was bugging Keigo. "Kendo?" he asked suddenly, eyeing Sanada's katana.

Sanada turned again. "Yes, sir."

"How long?"

Sanada thought about this for a moment. "As long as you've been alive, sir."

Keigo smirked. _Cocky._

"Here's the real question: what experience do you have with a gun?"

"Four years, sir. I had an internship with the police."

"Impressive. And you're… how old?"

"Twenty-two, sir."

Keigo raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Sanada continued to look at him, but didn't respond.

Keigo turned to look out his own window. "Your predecessor was older by a full decade."

Sanada studied his face, unable to help wondering what he was feeling. But he decided that he couldn't ask.

The car stopped in front of a large shopping center. Kajimoto turned back over the front seat and tipped his hat. "We're here, sir."

Keigo looked up. "Very good. Get the door please, Sanada."

Sanada opened it and got out. Keigo followed and looked up at his bodyguard with a smirk. "Sanada…" he sang.

"Yes, sir?"

"Your sunglasses."

Sanada tried hard not to grimace as he fumbled for his glasses. He could hear Kajimoto laughing, and soon Keigo did the same.

…

In the darkest room of a run-down building somewhere downtown, an intimidating man in a black suit sat silently in a huge, leather chair. He stared at the six figures standing on the other side of his desk. The light from the venetian blinds behind him illuminated almost everything but their faces.

The six figures stood as stiff as six boards. Twelve eyes followed the boss's fingers as they began to drum slowly on the smooth surface of the desk. His gold rings clacked against the wood.

"Our customer is getting impatient," he said.

No one dared to say a word. His eyes fell onto the shortest of his special "employees."

"And because of someone's previous _mistake_, we're back at square one." He reached into his desk and pulled out two small pieces of paper. He handed them to the tallest man of the group. One of the papers was a scrap that held only a name, and the other was a photograph.

"A new bodyguard?" The man said.

Someone grabbed the papers. He whistled. "Hey… he's not bad looking."

The short boy next to him kicked him in the shin. Someone else grabbed the papers and handed them back to the tallest man, whose glasses caught the light for a second. "'Sanada Genichiroh,' huh? I'll see what I can dig up."

"Have everything by tomorrow," the boss commanded.

"Yes, sir."

"Meanwhile, since plan 'A' has failed to yield results…" The boss turned to the pair of people standing in the corner. "I need you two to make another run at plan 'B' tonight. And you better not fail this time."

"I never would, if _some people _would do their job correctly."

"Calm down, baby." The woman's partner slipped his arm around her waist. "We've got it this time." She stamped her foot and tossed her hair.

"Anyways, boss," the man who'd tried to take the papers spoke up again. "Can we go back to bed? You know we sleep at this hour."

The boss stood up and slammed his hands onto his desk. The diamond stud in his ear twinkled for a second. "And I would be sleeping right now, too, if I wasn't _losing _so much sleep over the fact that we have _nothing _to show for the so-called work you all have been doing, and failing at, I might add."

All six of them shuddered.

He sat down again. "Fine. Go back to bed."

They all turned to leave.

"On one condition."

Some of them looked back.

"Do _not _fail again."

…

"What do think of this shirt?"

Sanada looked around, trying to figure out who Keigo was talking to.

Keigo rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sanada, I'm asking _you._"

Still a little confused, Sanada peeked over the rims of his glasses to study the article of clothing the seventeen-year-old was holding. "It's… well, _I_ wouldn't wear it."

Keigo looked at it again. "Oh, really? Why's that?"

"It's very… _purple_, sir."

"Eggplant," Keigo corrected.

"Oh."

Keigo held the shirt up to Sanada's shoulder. "Actually, I rather think it's your color."

Sanada felt his eyebrow twitch again. It seemed to be that, whenever that happened, it was best just to stay quiet.

Keigo couldn't help noticing his bodyguard's discomfort, and he laughed. Then he put the shirt back on the rack with a sigh. After half-heartedly searching through the shirts for a few more minutes, he finally admitted, "There's nothing I really want to buy today. I mostly just wanted to get out of the house."

Sanada watched Keigo's face, trying to read his expression. His face was distant, a little lonely maybe. But the young man was very good at hiding exactly what he was thinking.

"You're so quiet," Keigo said suddenly.

Sanada jolted. "I'm sorry, sir. I was told not to speak until I was spoken to."

Keigo looked a little surprised, maybe even hurt. His eyes shifted toward the ground. "Of course you were."

"Was I told wrong, sir?"

He crossed his arms. "Well, frankly, I don't think we'll _ever _have a problem with you talking too much. If you are, though, I'll tell you. So as far as I'm concerned, talk whenever you want."

"Yes, sir."

Keigo sighed. "Would you like to go have lunch somewhere?"

Sanada furrowed his eyebrows. "Isn't that for you to decide, sir?"

Keigo smiled a smile that wasn't really a smile. "Right. Let's go."

From the time they left the store to the time they sat down to eat, Sanada couldn't figure out what was the matter. He had been doing everything he was told, and he still got the feeling that he was doing everything wrong.

He hadn't expected the job to be like this at all.

He took off his sunglasses and put them in his coat pocket.

"What are you doing, Sanada?"

Without looking up, he replied, "I can't read the menu, sir."

In the silence that proceeded, he glanced up for a moment. Keigo was smiling that mischievous little half-smile. Sanada continued to read, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"I have to apologize, Sanada."

He looked up again. Keigo was looking up at him very seriously. "Apologize… sir?"

The seventeen-year-old rested his chin in his hand. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"You mean, for apologizing?"

"No. Just… in general."

Part of Sanada really wanted to say yes. But instead, he insisted, "Not really, sir."

"You know, you don't have to lie."

Another eyebrow twitch. Sanada hid himself halfway behind his menu.

Luckily, Keigo continued talking. "In any case, I apologize. I haven't been my normal, wonderful self today and it's been throwing me off. I keep forgetting that you're… new. Not used to this."

That confirmed everything in Sanada's head. He _was _doing something wrong. But it still seemed to him like he was doing everything exactly as everyone told him to do it.

What had his predecessor done so differently?

He looked Keigo in the eye. "You know, sir, you can tell me what I'm doing wrong."

Keigo looked down at the table, lost in thought. "What you're doing… wrong," he repeated, carefully. Then he hid his face with his menu. "You're not doing anything wrong."

"But, sir… You can—"

"Just forget it. Never mind."

Sanada took a deep breath. This was really starting to bug him, and he knew it would continue to do so for a long time.

With a sigh, Keigo finally explained, "It's not you that has to change. I just… need to get used to this." He slapped the menu onto the table. "Where is that waiter?"

Keigo angrily flagged down the waiter and they ordered their food. Sanada found the whole situation a bit surreal. He hadn't expected to eat his meals with the person he was supposed to be protecting. Then again, he hadn't thought about it. Eating together was practical; after all, what was the alternative? Standing there while Keigo ate and waiting until they got back to the mansion to eat something for himself? Of course they would eat together.

Still… maybe it was because Keigo was so young, but it felt more like a date than a meal with his boss.

Meanwhile, the silence was beginning to bother Keigo.

"It feels nice to get out today," he began. "I haven't really left my room since we lost Kippei. Well, that's not exactly true. Of course I've left my room to have meals with my family, but other than that, I've basically spent the past few days sitting on my bed, reading. Or falling asleep—my bed is very comfortable. A little _too _comfortable, maybe. I've gotten so used to it that I have a heap of trouble sleeping on anything else. I'll show you when we get home. In any case, I've gotten very bored of my room these past few days. But Father absolutely _insisted _that I stay home. He said he just wasn't comfortable with the thought of me going out. I asked him why I couldn't borrow one of his millions of bodyguards, but he wouldn't even discuss that possibility. Father is so difficult sometimes…"

Sanada sat there, stunned. He couldn't believe that one person could talk for so long about nothing in particular. But Keigo didn't stop talking for the entire hour they were eating. Which perplexed Sanada, because somehow, the seventeen-year-old also managed to finish his meal at the same time without once talking with his mouth full or being impolite in any way. Maybe it just _seemed _like he'd never stopped talking…

Keigo's one-sided chatter continued until they left the restaurant. Then the young man turned suddenly and suggested, "Let's take a walk."

"Where, sir?" Sanada asked, quickly remembering to put on his sunglasses.

"Well… I know of a park nearby. Let's go there."

"Whatever you say, sir."

Sanada had some vague idea of which park Keigo was talking about. After working with the police, he had gotten to know the city very well. When they got there, and he saw the name of the park, he couldn't help feeling like he'd heard the name recently, at the station. Like something had happened here, not too long ago…

He shook off the feeling and followed Keigo.

They walked around for hours, and Keigo filled the time with his elegant conversation. Every now and then, he would stay silent for a while, and Sanada would ask him if he wanted to go. Every time, he replied quickly, "Not yet," and continued to talk. It was getting on towards sunset, and suddenly Keigo got quiet. He led Sanada down a path they had passed many times but never taken. It led out towards the street.

At a certain point, Keigo held out his hand for Sanada to stop following.

"Just a minute," he said.

Sanada watched his back as he walked a few feet ahead and stopped.

Keigo stared at the ground in front of him.

_Kippei…_

_This is where I lost you._

In his head, he heard the gunshots ring out again.

"_KIPPEI!"_

"_Master Keigo! Get in the car! NOW!"_

He shuddered.

Sanada felt uneasy. His charge was only a few feet away, but at this moment, it felt too far. There was something about this place that made him nervous. Maybe it was the way Keigo was so quiet and still. Maybe it was the slight discoloration he thought he saw on the concrete. Or maybe it was just his intuition. If that was the case, he had learned from experience that it was best to trust his feelings.

He walked forward and grabbed Keigo's arm gently. "I think we should go, sir," he said softly, almost in a whisper.

Keigo closed his eyes and didn't move. He touched the hand Sanada had placed on his arm. "Yes… You're right."

Sanada turned to go, hoping his young master would follow. To his surprise, Keigo latched onto his arm. He stopped.

Keigo didn't look up. "It's okay. Let's go."

Deciding not to ask questions, Sanada led him back out of the park, all the way to the place the limousine was waiting. Kajimoto was standing there and opened the door when he saw them coming.

When Keigo got in the car, Kajimoto leaned close to Sanada's ear and asked quietly, "What was that all about?"

Sanada shook his head and whispered back, "I don't know."

Keigo stared out the window as they drove away, lost in thought.

_I don't know what I was expecting._

He hadn't realized it before, but some part of him had been hoping that Kippei would somehow show up if he went to that place, that he would just be strolling absentmindedly down that path, that he would see Keigo and start running towards him and say, "I was waiting for you to come back to find me, Keigo. I'm sorry I scared you…"

Sanada watched as Keigo's forehead fell against the window. The bodyguard had been thinking about it, and his suspicions explained why he had heard of the park recently.

Someone had been shot in that park, not five days ago.

Sanada watched Keigo carefully. He hadn't realized how recently the last bodyguard had died. It was amazing to him how cheerful Keigo was. It might have made sense that the seventeen-year-old was somewhat unaffected; Tachibana was, after all, just a bodyguard. But it was obvious that Keigo was hiding his feelings, and hiding them very well.

He was trying so hard to be strong.

Still staring out the window, Keigo was forcing himself not to cry, or show any expression at all. And, after a moment's thought, he figured out why his father had hired Sanada as his new bodyguard. Without even glancing over, Keigo could tell that the twenty-two-year-old was sitting as stiff and silent as ever. If the man wanted to ask questions, he certainly didn't show it.

If he cared at all, he certainly didn't show that either.

Keigo closed his eyes.

_I miss you, Kippei._

The limousine pulled up to the house, and Kajimoto walked around to open the door. Keigo got out first and walked inside right away. Sanada got out and stood there, watching him.

"I've never heard the backseat that quiet before," Kajimoto commented.

Sanada didn't respond to that, asking instead, "Where was Tachibana shot?"

The chauffer closed the door. "At a park, not too far from where we were."

"Master Keigo took me there."

Kajimoto looked up. Sanada's eyes were still fixed on the front door.

"No wonder," was all Kajimoto said. Then he got back into the car and drove away towards the garages.

Sanada went inside. He was about to turn down the hallway towards his room, but he stopped and looked at the stairs in front of him.

Would it be rude to follow?

On an impulse, he began climbing the stairs. Before he knew it, he was running up them. At the top, he turned right, just guessing where the room was. He nearly ran into Ootori.

"Sanada-san!"

"I'm sorry," Sanada said quickly. He glanced at the door just ahead. It was shut. "Is that… Master Keigo's room?"

"Yes, it is."

"Is he… available? Or…"

Ootori looked at his feet. "I think he wants to be left alone right now."

"Oh…"

Sanada suddenly felt foolish. Why had he come up here?

Ootori leaned slightly towards him. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Sanada remained looking at the door. "No… I just wanted to know where his room was. Just in case… I needed to know."

He now looked steadily at Ootori, knowing his excuse to be valid and believable. The butler smiled at him and said, "Well, this is it. Master Keigo's bedroom is right behind that door."

Sanada nodded. "Thank you."

"See you at dinner," Ootori remarked when Sanada turned to leave.

As the bodyguard was descending the stairs, Ootori heard Keigo's voice. "Ootori!"

"Coming, sir!" He peeked through the door. "What can I do for you?"

Keigo was sitting on his bed, hidden behind the chiffon curtains. "Who were you talking to?"

"Sanada-san. Why do you ask, sir?"

Keigo quickly got out of his bed and ran to the door, looking out down the hallway. No one was there.

"What is it, sir?"

Keigo didn't turn to look at his butler. "Why was he up here?"

"He said he just wanted to know where your room was. I assume in case the alarm goes off."

"Oh." Keigo stepped back into his room.

"He did ask to see you, sir," Ootori quickly added.

Keigo stopped. "Did he?"

"Yes, sir."

Without responding, he climbed back into bed. "Thank you, Ootori. You can go."

Ootori did so, trying not to think about the fact that his young master's eyes were red.

* * *

-end of chapter 2-

Hope you liked it! XD

Next chapter: The alarm sounds! Keigo finally talks about what happened, that day…


	3. Not Allowed to Cry

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis. If I did, Ootori would totally be my butler.

**Warning: **This fic contains mild shounen-ai and non-explicit yaoi.

**Author's Notes: **Enjoy this chapter! I've put a lot of thought into it. XD I kept changing things but I think I'm finally happy with it. Quick reminder: I've made some of the characters female, just to be weird and fun. So don't kill me. Laugh instead. XD

* * *

Atobe and his wife sat at one end of the very long table in the dining hall. The rich man tapped his foot and looked impatiently at his watch.

"Where is Keigo?"

His wife sighed. "It's only been a few minutes, dear."

"He doesn't seem to realize what a busy man I am. It's very difficult for me to find an hour in my schedule every day to spend time with him. And he apparently doesn't feel obligated to show up when I ask him to."

Just then, Keigo walked in the door. He sat down silently, completely aware of his father's intense stare.

"You're late," Atobe observed.

"I'm sorry, Father," Keigo replied. He said nothing more.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Dear…" The mistress warned gently, hiding her frustration with her husband.

Keigo looked down at the plate that had just been set in front of him. "I just… lost track of time. I'm sorry."

His mother stared at Atobe. "It was only a few minutes," she whispered.

The master of the house sighed and picked up his fork. He began eating, obviously not wanting to discuss the matter any further.

After a few full minutes of silence, Atobe finally changed the subject. "So, Keigo… What did you think of the new bodyguard Oshitari found for you?"

Keigo didn't look at his father, but stared straight ahead.

_I know what you want me to say, Father._

He stuck his fork in a piece of food. "He's… alright. Very quiet."

His father seemed satisfied with that answer, as he continued eating. Knowing this, Keigo frowned.

His mother could tell something was wrong. "Well, we can always find you another one, if you want."

Atobe glared at his wife, wishing she could learn to keep her mouth shut. "Don't be silly, dear." He turned to his son. "You haven't even seen him in action yet. I hear he's an expert at martial arts."

Keigo rested his cheek in his hand and traced the rim of his glass with his finger. "Yes, Father, I know. Kendo."

"Really? How did you know that?"

"He carries a katana."

"No elbows on the table, sweetheart." The mistress noted Keigo's lack of interest with disappointment. "You know what you should do? You should ask to see some of his fighting, maybe some shooting as well. Then you might feel more comfortable with him."

Keigo sighed and dropped his hands into his lap. "That won't be necessary, Mother. I'm sure he's very qualified."

"Of course he is," Atobe cut in between bites. "And we're not hiring anyone else."

Keigo glared at the table.

"Sweetheart? You haven't touched your food," his mother observed.

"I'm not hungry," he snapped.

His parents just stared at him. It made him uncomfortable, so he got up and left the room.

"Keigo! Get back in here now!" Atobe stood.

"Let him go, dear."

When he reached the safety of his room, Keigo slammed the door behind him. Then he climbed once again into his bed, feeling his eyes start to sting again.

_I miss you, Kippei._

He rubbed away his first tear roughly, almost scratching his face with his sleeve.

_This is ridiculous. I already cried today._

He grabbed a pillow and held it close. His face was twisted with sorrow and anger. "I'm not this much of a baby," he said aloud. "I'm _not_ going to cry again."

He closed his eyes, fighting the tears. He slowly gained control, but continued to hate himself for the fact that his eyes still stung. The thought that he had cried at all today was repulsive to him. If his father knew…

Keigo tried to distract himself by thinking of the day's events. But that just frustrated him even more. The thought of being stuck with his new bodyguard made him angry. And he started to hate Sanada.

He wanted Kippei.

He closed his eyes, trying to remember. He imagined feeling someone's warm arms wrapping gently around him from behind. Someone's loving voice whispered into his ear. He opened his eyes.

No one was really there.

Keigo felt a lump form in his throat. He clutched the blanket at his side, fighting the urge to break down. How stupid was he, to think of all that? Was he _trying _to make himself cry?

Somehow, he couldn't stop the heartbreaking thoughts from coming. Kippei was really dead. And everyone expected him to be okay with it. He couldn't talk about it. He hadn't even been allowed to go to the funeral. He wasn't supposed to cry, either, which was what made it so hard not to.

It was so hard not to…

But he couldn't. He wasn't _allowed. _That's why he'd only been able to cry for a few minutes when he got home. He'd had to stop himself so he could dry his eyes, so they wouldn't be red and his father wouldn't see. And that's why he had to stop himself now.

Suddenly, he felt very alone.

He fell onto his pillow, wanting to forget it all. Some part of him still wanted to wake up and find out that this was all a nightmare. He wished he could open his eyes and see that he wasn't alone after all. That Kippei was still there, beside him…

Frustrated with himself, he hit the pillow next to him. No nightmare lasted for five days.

_Don't cry, Keigo._

_Don't…_

Keigo felt exhaustion begin to take over. He left his current nightmare and slipped into another.

…

In the back grounds later that evening, a guard was making his nightly rounds when the alarm went off. He whipped out his flashlight and surveyed the area. The light caught something black quickly jumping over the wall.

"Who's there?" he yelled, knowing that it was already too late. He cursed under his breath.

Another guard ran over. "Hiyoshi! Did you see anything?"

"Somone just jumped over that wall." Hiyoshi pointed with his spot of light.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a cat?" the other guard asked.

Hiyoshi glared at him. "Don't be stupid, Sengoku. After all the break-ins we've had, you're still saying it was 'just a cat'?"

Sengoku rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgive a guy for being optimistic." He switched on his own light and turned slightly away. "In any case, it looks like the alarm scared them off. Let's just make sure everything's clear."

Hiyoshi stared at the wall, undecided. Whoever it had been was probably long gone. He growled and walked away to check the area.

The culprit jumped into the waiting car a block away and slammed the door. "Drive," she barked.

"What happened this time?" the driver asked.

She tossed her red hair. "Inui's information was wrong. _Again._"

He sighed. "Eiji, are you really sure it's not just you?" (1)

Eiji shot him an evil glare. "What are you saying, Oishi?" she hissed.

"Inui's information is rarely wrong…"

"Well, he keeps complaining himself that the system is whack."

"Define 'whack'…"

"It keeps changing on us! Every time we trip the freakin' alarm, it resets!"

"Calm down, doll face."

Eiji slumped back into her chair with her arms crossed.

"_You _can explain to Tezuka," she said.

"Fine. I'll explain to Tezuka."

Oishi glanced at his partner. Eiji seemed genuinely upset. He put his arm around her and continued to drive with one hand.

"Just leave it to me, sweetheart."

…

Sanada was almost finished unpacking when he heard the alarm go off.

_Shoot…_

He looked around frantically for his belt. Wherever he had set it, his weapons would be attached. It didn't take him long to see it on the top shelf of his closet, but the thirty seconds he was allowed was a very short time, too. He still had to go all the way up the stairs to Keigo's bedroom.

Keigo had jolted awake as soon as the alarm started sounding.

"Great," he mumbled, rubbing his forehead. He really wasn't in the mood to see his new bodyguard again. His night had been hard enough, especially with all of the bad dreams he'd been having…

Keigo sat up, thinking back to the nightmare he had just been saved from. It was very similar to that memory that still haunted him, with one crucial difference.

They'd gotten him this time.

He shuddered. What was taking Sanada so long?

Just then, Sanada came through the door, almost cautiously. "Sir? Are you awake?"

"Yes. Come in."

Sanada could only see the silouhette of his master behind the thin curtains covering the gigantic bed. He walked closer, marvelling at the size of it. When he reached the bedside, he stood up straight and scanned the room.

"What took you so long?" Keigo asked.

"I didn't realize it would take me quite so long to get to your room," he explained calmly, still looking around. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to make you nervous."

"I was _not _nervous."

Sanada now looked towards his charge. Keigo's harsh denial proved that he was lying. Why did he sound so angry?

Deciding that there was no proper reply to his master's false assertion, Sanada continued to observe his surroundings. His eyes fell on the huge windows at the far side of the room.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to come closer to this edge of the bed."

Keigo rolled his eyes and crawled over. "What? Is there a _problem_?"

"No, I'm just thinking what would happen if someone broke in through those windows."

Keigo became still for a moment. His nightmare flashed before his eyes. He shook off the feeling and started tying back his curtains, trying to act nonchalant. "What would happen, exactly?"

Sanada's eyes remained on the windows. "I wouldn't be able to get around the bed in time to protect you."

The words lingered in Keigo's ears. Suddenly Sanada's voice had sounded strangely like Kippei's.

The seventeen-year-old settled into a sitting position on the edge of his bed. At least this new guard was thorough. He felt safe again and relaxed.

Keigo looked up at Sanada, whose eyes were resting intensely on the door. He couldn't help wondering exactly what Sanada planned to do if someone came through it suddenly. As far as Keigo could tell, every muscle in the guard's body was tense and ready to act.

The young master's eyes dropped to the floor and began scanning upward. He studied the strong position of Sanada's legs, the way he clasped his hands firmly behind his back, his broad shoulders, the tan neck hidden under strands of glossy black hair, his chisled jawline…

Sanada's hand reached up briefly to the device in his ear. Then he turned to Keigo and said, "It's all clear. I can go if you want me to, sir."

Keigo blinked. He hadn't heard when the alarm had shut off. It irritated him to realize where his mind had just been going. So he turned away and replied, "Yes. Please go."

Before Sanada reached the door, though, Keigo had second thoughts. He looked out the windows, remembering why Sanada had asked him to move away from them.

"Wait," he commanded.

Sanada turned to look at him. "Yes, sir?"

Keigo couldn't believe he was asking this. "Can you stay a little longer?"

"Of course, sir." Sanada walked back to the exact spot he had been standing.

After an awkward pause, Keigo sighed and said, "I know it's stupid, but I'm just feeling a little nervous."

"That's not stupid, sir."

He looked back at Sanada. The bodyguard's stance and expression were stiff as always, but his eyes radiated honesty. "You don't think so?" Keigo asked softly.

"No, sir. Especially after everything that must have happened lately."

Keigo gazed into Sanada's eyes, baffled. He had never expected to find understanding there. He turned away a little, running his fingers through his hair.

"May I ask you something, sir?" Sanada asked, very quietly.

"Yes, what is it?"

Sanada took a breath. "Can you tell me about the day Tachibana died?"

Keigo looked up at him with wide eyes. Sanada continued. "I never really heard what happened. All I heard was that he was shot." After a second, he added, "You don't have to tell me, of course. I understand if you don't want to talk about it, sir."

"No! No…" Keigo let out a breath, almost like a laugh. "It's fine; I'll tell you. I've actually… really wanted to talk about it. Sit down."

Sanada obediently sat on the edge of Keigo's bed, beside him. The guard's eyes rested on his young master as carefully as he was listening. Keigo clasped his hands, playing with them a little. He had been so anxious to talk about that day, but he hadn't really thought about what he wanted so badly to say. And he didn't know where to start.

"That day…" he began. Right away, he had to take a deep breath. "It was… a very normal day. It's almost unsettling how normal it was. I slept in that day, and Kippei and I went out for lunch."

Sanada never took his eyes off Keigo. During this short pause, he wondered why his master always referred to Tachibana by his first name.

The seventeen-year-old continued. "Kippei seemed a little… uneasy. He kept looking around… Looking back, I wonder if he'd seen someone following us, or if it was just his intuition. He never said anything. When I asked, he said it was nothing. I think he just didn't want to worry me." Keigo clasped his hands tighter. "I wish he'd told me."

The young master rubbed his forehead, hiding his eyes with his hand. There was another long silence before he took his hand away and went on.

"Later, we went for a walk… in that park I took you to today. He called for the limo to be parked very close by. I guess I should have taken that as another clue that he was nervous. We had a few other guards with us too… Sometimes we do that when I go into town. They were waiting by the car. We were walking back…" Keigo closed his eyes. "I remember seeing the limo, just ahead. Kippei was walking beside me… and then, there was a lot of noise…" He buried his head in his hands. "Kippei threw his arms around me to protect me, but then, I guess he realized he wasn't able to stand. He pushed me towards the car and one of the guards pulled me inside. The last thing I heard him yell before they slammed the door was 'Go!'" Keigo looked up again. "And that's just what we did."

Sanada just stared, taking this all in. It amazed him how calm his master sounded as he was talking.

"I still don't think it hit me what had happened, at first. But when Kamio, the guard who was in the car with me, looked me over to see if I was hurt, I saw, on my shirt… I guess I didn't realize, but I had gotten some of Kippei's blood on me… And that's when I knew…"

Keigo stopped there, seemingly unable to go on. Sanada, without thinking, whispered, "Knew what, sir?"

The seventeen-year-old took a deep breath. "I knew I'd never see him again."

There was an interminable silence. Keigo dug his nails into the flesh of his arm.

_Don't do it, Keigo. Not in front of him…_

_Don't cry._

Sanada noticed his young master's discomfort. He wasn't certain of the source, until he saw the water building up in Keigo's eyes.

Sanada clenched his fists slightly.

He had been there.

"You can cry, sir, if you need to."

As if responding to Sanada's command, tears began flowing down Keigo's cheeks. His tightly pursed lips relaxed and parted slightly.

_I can?_

Before he knew it, he was sobbing. He cried for several minutes.

And that was all he needed to do.

He didn't need to be held, he didn't need a shoulder to cry on. All he had needed to know was that it was okay to cry. And he needed to be allowed to do so.

How had Sanada known that?

When he was done, Keigo wiped his eyes with the corner of his blanket. "I'm sorry," he said.

"You don't need to be sorry, sir." Sanada stood. "I'm sorry I made you talk about all that."

"No!" Keigo looked up at him with eyes that were still glassy. "Thank you. Thank you for letting me burden you with it ."

Sanada shook his head. "It's no burden, sir."

Keigo felt himself smile. "And thank you… for letting me cry."

Sanada just looked at him for a moment, as if unsure how to respond. "Of course, sir," he said finally.

"You can go," Keigo offered, getting back into bed. "I'm keeping you from your sleep."

"Don't worry about that, sir. Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

The young master nodded and smiled softly. "I'm sure. Thank you."

"Goodnight, then, sir."

"Goodnight," Keigo replied, then watched him leave. Minutes later, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

…

The next morning, when Sanada's alarm went off at five, he switched it off. When he'd set the alarm, his intent had been to make it to breakfast on time. But he hadn't expected his sleep to be delayed by a security alarm. Figuring that it was a valid excuse to sleep in, he buried his face in his pillow.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. "What?" he yelled, not moving.

"Sanada-san?" It was Ootori.

Sanada sighed and got up to open the door. But then he realized that it would probably be a good idea to put on a pair of pants. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. "Just a minute," he yelled.

"Take your time," Ootori replied. He waited patiently for his new friend to open the door. When Sanada did, Ootori was a little shocked to see him wearing nothing but the black pants from his uniform.

Sanada didn't understand what the butler found so surprising. "What is it?" he asked.

The words caught a little in Ootori's throat. "Oh… I was…" He felt himself blush. He coughed. "I was sent to tell you that, after breakfast, Master Keigo wishes to see you. He said he wants to watch some of your shooting and kendo."

"He wants…" Sanada ran his fingers through his hair, slowly comprehending. "Why?"

Ootori smiled nervously. "I'm not sure, Sanada-san."

"Alright." Sanada sighed and turned back to glance at his clock. "I guess I'd better go to breakfast, then."

"Alright, see you then."

Sanada closed the door. Ootori wiped his forehead.

_Does that man know how good he looks without a shirt?_

Sanada got dressed and made it to breakfast a little early. He met Ootori there and ate with him. Afterwards, Ootori offered to show him where to meet Keigo.

"He said that he'd be waiting at the firing range."

"This house has its own firing range?"

Sure enough, when the two of them got there, they found Keigo sitting on one of the concrete slabs that seperated the shooter from the target. Dangling from his finger was an extra pair of hearing protectors.

"What took you so long?" he asked Sanada, motioning for Ootori to leave the room.

The bodyguard wasn't sure how to answer. "How long have you been waiting, sir?"

"A while. I slept well so I woke up pretty early today." Keigo jumped down from his perch and handed the piece of equipment he was holding to Sanada.

Sanada draped the headband around his neck and quickly inspected his weapon. "So, _why_ did you want to watch me do this, sir?"

Keigo crossed his arms. "Just curious how good you are." He placed the hearing protectors over his ears and folded his arms again. "Fire when ready."

Sanada covered his own ears. "Stand back, sir."

He aimed at the target and shot. Round after round, he hit where he was aiming, almost dead center every time. Keigo watched with a confident smile on his face.

"Pretty impressive," he said when Sanada was done. "You have a good eye."

"I was told so, sir." Sanada finished reloading his gun and stuck it back into his belt.

"Now let's see some of your kendo. Follow me."

They were met in the hallway by Ootori. He walked beside Keigo and Sanada followed, a bit behind.

"How was he, sir?" The butler asked his master in a whisper.

Keigo glanced back at Sanada, suddenly getting an idea. He smirked and turned back to Ootori.

"He's pretty good," he admitted, just barely loud enough for his bodyguard to hear. "But his shooting isn't anything _I _would brag about. Kippei was better. But he's good enough."

Sanada bristled.

Good _enough_?

He had gone to the firing range and done as he was told, but had done so somewhat half-heartedly. He hadn't been expecting any sort of critique from his young master.

He would have done better if he had known that.

Sanada couldn't say exactly why Keigo's insignificant comment annoyed him. But as they kept walking, he decided that he would prove Keigo wrong when he showed him his kendo.

He was better than "good enough."

Just ahead, Keigo grinned slightly, well aware that his remark had achieved the desired effect.

They reached the training room minutes later. Three rolled-up bamboo mats were set up at one end. Keigo and Ootori walked to the other side of the room and knelt down on the mat to watch.

Sanada gripped his sheath. "What would you like to see, sir?"

"Your best moves," Keigo responded with a smirk. "Dazzle me."

Sanada bowed a little and turned to face his target. Keigo narrowed his eyes, already able to tell that Sanada was more in his element. He saw a fire in the guard's eyes.

_This should be good._

The seventeen-year-old watched as Sanada focused for a moment. Then, quicker than a flash of lightning, the bodyguard drew his sword and made one clean cut in the bamboo mat. The top half fell to the floor.

Keigo couldn't breathe. What had just happened? He had hardly seen it.

Sanada re-sheathed his sword and positioned himself in front of the next target. Keigo watched in awe as he performed the same quick motion, this time making three perfect cuts. On the next one, he moved his feet a little more, aggressively cutting the mat twice, then spinning around to make the third and final cut. Satisfied, he stood up straight and put the sword back in its sheath. Then he turned to his audience.

"That was incredible, Sanada-san!" Ootori clasped his hands together. "I've never seen anyone move so fast!"

Keigo just stared with an open mouth at the pieces of the mat that lay on the floor.

Sanada looked at him. "Sir?"

Keigo jolted a bit, looking up at Sanada. "Yes… very impressive. I was… very impressed." He stood up. His legs felt a little shaky beneath him, but he hid it well. "Thank you, Sanada. Relax for the rest of the morning. I'll send Ootori to get you if I feel like going out after lunch."

"Thank you, sir." Sanada bowed and left the room.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Ootori asked when he was gone.

Keigo felt his heart beating faster. "No, Ootori. It's nothing." He turned away. "I'll just… be going to my room now."

On his way upstairs, Keigo tried desperately to calm down a bit. He was frightened. That feeling he'd gotten suddenly, watching Sanada… It scared him. When Kippei died, he thought he'd never have that feeling again. He wasn't in love, exactly… But he was _attracted _to Sanada.

Keigo resented his father for not wanting him to get attached to his new bodyguard. But now he realized that the possibility scared him, too.

_I don't want to feel this way again… I don't! Not after what happened…_

_I don't want that to happen again._

He entered his room and jumped onto his bed. He thought of Kippei.

_I swore I'd never love again._

Keigo laid one arm over his eyes. It had only been six days, and already…

He groaned. He couldn't believe how fickle he was.

_Kippei… are you angry?_

Keigo sat up again and looked out his windows. No. He couldn't do this. The people who had killed Kippei were still out there. Already, they were tripping the alarm again. The past month's history was bound to repeat itself.

Keigo had never told anyone, but that day, six days ago, he was sure…

They hadn't been aiming for him.

They'd been aiming for Kippei.

And if they tried it again, they'd be aiming for Sanada.

Keigo made a fist. His father was right. He couldn't get attached. A little hint of attraction was no big deal. He'd get over this.

He had to…

* * *

-end of chapter 3-

Hope you liked it! XD

_Notes…_

(1) Yes, I made Eiji a girl. I told you I was gonna do it. XD I wanted the Golden Pair to have a sort of "Bonnie and Clyde" feel. I'm thinking of writing a separate fanfic (based on the same universe) that covers their backstory. If anything Eiji does seems a bit out of character, keep the gender switch in mind. I've been trying to look at it from this perspective: "If Eiji really were a girl, what would she do? What would she be like?" And don't worry, she won't be the only boy-turned-girl in this story. ;D


	4. Shattered

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis. If you try to sue my, I'll have Tezuka and his mob come after you. XD

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations

**Author's Note: **This fic is lovingly dedicated to all the PoT fans who can't stand Seigaku; I made them the villains for you. XD Enjoy!

* * *

Tezuka was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands when he heard a door quietly open and close. He didn't look up. Moments later, he vaguely sensed someone slinking around behind him.

"Oh, darling…" cooed a woman's voice. "Another migrane?"

"Several," he replied. "In the same spot."

He heard a breathy giggle behind him. Soft hands with nicely polished nails began massaging his neck. "Tell me what's wrong, baby," she drawled.

"I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Did Eiji and Oishi screw up again, darling?"

"What do you think?"

Her piercing blue eyes glared into the darkness at the far side of the room. "I think you should fire that lousy slut."

"Slut?" Tezuka looked up at her. "Like you can talk, Fuji."

Fuji giggled again. "Yes, but I'm not _lousy_ like Eiji."

"Oh, that's what you meant." The boss continued rubbing his forehead.

Fuji strolled around to his side and sat on the desk. The diamonds around her neck glittered like stars in the dim light. "Fire them both, darling. They're nothing but a horrible headache…" She slipped her fingers under Tezuka's chin and pressed her lips against his.

Tezuka sighed. "I'm afraid, Angel, that my headache would only get worse if I fired them." He stood up to peek through the window blinds. "Eiji keeps messing up, but I don't think anyone else would do any better."

"I'm not so sure about that." Fuji tossed her light brown hair.

Tezuka turned and studied her face. "What do you have against her, anyway? The two of you used to get along just fine."

Fuji slid off the desk and started messing with the collar on Tezuka's jacket. "She thinks she's prettier than I am."

He shook his head and circled her tiny waist in his arms. "She's wrong."

Fuji smirked. "Anyway, darling, all I'm saying is that you should try sending someone else."

"Who would I send?" Tezuka asked, playing with her hair.

"Send Inui if he thinks he knows so much. And then, if Eiji's right and he's wrong about his information, he'll see how hard it is and the two of them won't argue anymore." She kissed him again. "Which, for you, can only mean fewer migranes."

Tezuka's gaze turned to the side. "Inui won't do it himself…"

"Tell him to take Kaidoh, then."

He was silent for a moment, considering the idea. He reached past his girlfriend and pressed two buttons on the phone that sat on his desk. "Inui, Kaidoh, Oishi, Kikumaru. All four of you, in my office, now."

Fuji slipped away for a moment to go to her room. When she returned with her cat, all four of the assassins were standing in front of the desk. She sat on it and laid Karupin on her lap.

Tezuka was standing, staring Eiji and Oishi down. "You two are getting off easy this time. I won't be so gracious if it happens again. I've grown tired of your failure and I'm not sending you again for a while." He turned to face the other two. "I'm sending you, Inui, tonight, to try your luck at the system. Take Kaidoh with you."

"Yes, sir."

Tezuka glanced at the folder under Inui's arm. "The information. I almost forgot." He held out his hand. Inui offered him the folder.

The boss looked over some of the papers. "Police work, huh?" He looked up. "Was this all you found on the guy?"

Inui adjusted his glasses. "Yes, sir."

Fuji was reading over Tezuka's shoulder. Her eyes scanned one of the pictures. "You know, if you want, darling, I could take care of him."

"Unfortunately, Fuji, your methods won't work on him," Inui cut in. He received a glare from her.

"Really?" She glanced at the picture again. "Why is it that all the good-looking guys are—" She stopped, suddenly detecting an angry stare from her boyfriend.

"Well, it's not only that…" Inui reached over to retrieve the file. "Reliable sources tell me that his only romance ended tragically. From reports of his reckless behavior in some situations as a police intern, I'm guessing he feels he has nothing to live for."

"How utterly tragic…" Fuji grinned sadistically. "Not afraid to die, huh? Well, then, at least we don't have a stubborn one on our hands."

"Ugh, I hate stubborn people." Eiji was eyeing Fuji's jewels jealously, not really paying attention to her own words. "Some people just refuse to die."

"Well, I'll send Echizen to take care of him soon, like he did Tachibana." Tezuka sat down. "We just have to time it right."

There was a short silence. The boss turned his chair towards the window. "The four of you can go."

When Eiji and Oishi got back to their room, they were quiet for a long time. Oishi could tell Eiji was upset about something. He was hesitant to say anything, afraid that it would upstart her fragile temper.

Eiji was the first to speak. "Why does Fuji get so many diamonds?"

"Oh, doll face…" Oishi almost laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "Is that what you're angry about?"

She pulled away. "She's so spoiled. I hate her!"

"Why do you hate her?"

Eiji turned away and crossed her arms. "She thinks she's prettier than I am." She stamped her foot. "Just 'cuz she's always been so spoiled. And because she's… thinner…"

Oishi sighed. _Must be that time of the month…_

"Eiji, we've been over this. You're not fat."

Eiji started crying. Oishi held her. He was an expert at handling these situations by now. "You're curvier, sweetheart. And you're much prettier than Fuji. Fuji's flat as a board."

Eiji sniffed. "Well… I wouldn't say _that_…" After a moment, she laughed and wrapped her arms around her partner. "Okay, I lied. I would say that."

She kissed Oishi, long and hard. "You really think I'm prettier?"

"Babe, you're gorgeous." They kissed some more. Oishi pushed Eiji onto the bed. "You know… It sounds like we won't be needed for a while…"

Eiji smiled, knowing what he was thinking. "We'll need some way to _entertain_ ourselves, won't we, Oishi?" She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him.

"Yes, we will, doll face."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, sugar lips?"

"I think I am, kitten." He turned out the light.

…

When Ootori found Sanada at lunch time, he informed him that Master Keigo wanted to go out again at one o'clock. Sanada didn't dare argue with that, and he was done with his lunch and waiting at the front at five 'til one.

Keigo showed up only seven minutes later. Kajimoto promptly opened the door for him. "Where to, sir?"

"Wherever. Somewhere we can walk around." The young master looked up at the sky. "It's such a nice day, I just hated to waste it."

Keigo stepped into the limo. Sanada thought he saw his young boss give him a funny look before he did so. The bodyguard didn't make much of it, and followed Keigo into the car.

The drive was pretty much silent. The whole way to their unknown destination, Keigo did nothing but stare out the window. Sanada just watched him, though he couldn't say why he did so. Something about the way his master was ignoring him was a bit unsettling.

As Sanada looked at Keigo, the silence slowly seemed less awkward and more peaceful. He studied the seventeen-year-old's face, which was built with features that were strong in shape, yet somehow delicate. Streaks of sunlight through the passing trees brushed swiftly over Keigo's porcelein skin, stopping to glimmer for a moment in his eyes. Sanada's eyes drifted downward, noticing the elegant way the young master crossed his legs and placed both hands on his knee. The guard's gaze seemed stuck on those hands.

Sanada thought he saw something he had never dared to hope he'd see again.

The car stopped and Sanada thought it wise to tear his eyes away. He heard Kajimoto's voice over his shoulder. "Is this alright, sir?"

Keigo looked out the other window. They were on a street with a long stretch of shops and restaurants. "This is fine. Thank you, Kajimoto. We'll meet you back here."

Keigo and Sanada got out of the car and began walking. Keigo was pleased with himself, having felt none of the emotions he'd felt earlier that day. He was sure he had nothing to be scared of anymore.

The seventeen-year-old looked once again at the sky. It truly was a gorgeous day. It was one of those days that almost didn't seem real. He had often seen the weather like this, but it felt like such a long time since it had been so nice…

Smiling, he turned to his bodyguard. Sanada had a strange expression on his face that Keigo couldn't read. It was barely detectable, and it went away so fast that Keigo wasn't sure if he'd actually seen it.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Sanada asked, having seen Keigo's smile begin to fade.

"You're not wearing your glasses." The young master forced the smile back again, watching Sanada reluctantly retrieve his sunglasses. He changed the subject very quickly. "You know what I always do on days like this?"

"Um… what, sir?"

"I get ice cream," he replied, eyeing a parlor they had just passed. "Let's get some. I'll pay for it."

Sanada followed Keigo into the ice cream shop, thinking the suggestion a bit out of character. But as they stood in line, the seventeen-year-old explained, "It's a habit of mine on nice days to get ice cream. Kippei always bought me a cone on days like this, ever since I was little."

Sanada blinked, a bit surprised. "How long did he work for you, sir?"

"Well, he was hired when I was nine to be one of my father's bodyguards. But at that age I still went everywhere with Father. Kippei would always give me special attention when I tagged along, and when I was old enough to go places by myself, I wouldn't have anyone else go with me but him."

Sanada nodded, though he still felt like he was missing something.

"What would you like?" Keigo asked when it was almost their turn at the counter.

Sanada glanced at the flavor list, unsure. He didn't really have much of a sweet tooth. "It's alright, sir. I don't want any."

Keigo laid his hands on his hips. "That's ridiculous. You're getting ice cream, so what do you want?"

Sanada adjusted his sunglasses. When, exactly, had he developed such a bad twitch in his eyebrow? He sighed, knowing it was no use to make a fuss. "Vanilla, I guess."

"How boring," Keigo drawled, stepping up to the cashier. He then corrected himself. "Forgive me. I forgot who I was talking to."

Sanada took off his sunglasses and rubbed his brow in an effort to cure the twitching.

"Two waffle cones. One vanilla, one chocolate chocolate-chip."

When they got their cones, they sat at a table by the window. Keigo angled his chair slightly so he could watch the people pass by. Sanada remained facing him, still trying to read his expression. He obediently ate his dessert in the meantime.

Keigo's expression was far away, thinking. It was so far away that it was hard to imagine him thinking about anything in particular. His eyes followed the groups of people that passed by, and his face remained somewhat blank. Suddenly, though, Keigo turned…

The seventeen-year-old's entire countenance changed. A bright, sincere smile snuck onto his face, radiantly genuine simply because he couldn't help it. His eyes danced a little with laughter. "Sanada…" He pointed to his own cheek, right by the corner of his sparkling grin. "You've got some on your face…"

Sanada blinked twice, then took an unsuccessful swipe at it. "Is it gone?"

Keigo laughed a laugh that reminded Sanada of a clarinet. "No. Here…" The young master leaned over the table with a napkin.

"Sir…"

The seventeen-year-old wiped Sanada's cheek clean before he could protest any further. "There," he said, sitting down and looking very satisfied with his good deed.

Sanada just stared at him. He had the vague sensation that he had seen a ghost, and it had just now vanished. He didn't see it again for the rest of the day.

When they got home, Sanada went straight to his room and picked up the picture on his dresser.

_Yukimura…_

A pair of deep blue eyes smiled sadly back at him. He set the picture back on the wooden surface.

_This is ridiculous. Master Keigo is nothing like you._

Sanada stared at the picture for a full minute. His eyes fell on Yukimura's hands.

They were folded the exact same way he'd seen Keigo's folded.

He winced.

_I'm not going there._

Sanada opened his top drawer and buried the picture underneath his socks. Then he shut the drawer and fell backwards onto his bed.

_I've just stared at that picture too long. Of course I would notice if Master Keigo folded his hands the same way._

He closed his eyes.

_But the way he smiled…_

Shuddering, he sat up and looked at the clock. It was almost time for dinner. Grateful for the distraction, he got up and left his haunted room.

…

"Sanada-san? Sanada…"

Sanada blinked once, suddenly realizing where he was. He had zoned out sometime during dinner, and now Ootori was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Sorry," he said quickly and continued eating.

"What were you thinking about?"

Sanada dropped his fork slowly onto his plate. His eyes were angled slightly downward, but he wasn't really seeing anything in front of him. "It's nothing," he lied.

Ootori sighed. He'd seen that look before. It was probably best just to let Sanada think.

He rested his chin in his hands, letting his eyes wander around the room. He didn't feel very hungry anymore. His gaze fell on one of the waiters and followed him.

Shishido had caught Ootori's eye almost two years earlier, not long after he was hired. The butler wasn't sure what it was about the nineteen-year-old kitchen boy… But slowly, as Ootori watched him day after day, something had kindled. And now, as he observed Shishido carrying an impossible mountain of dishes back into the kitchen, he smiled sadly.

It would never happen.

Ootori played a little with the cuffs of his sleeves, shaking his head, still smiling. He knew that it was silly to hope at all. Shishido didn't even know his name. They never really had a chance to talk. And besides…

Why would Shishido want to talk to him anyway?

He glanced around at all of the other tables. There wasn't a single one that had less than four people sitting at it. Except for the empty tables, of which there were plenty. So it wasn't like they were all forced to sit together, they just liked to. But until recently, Ootori had always eaten alone.

He supposed it made sense. All of the other servants spent a lot of time with one another. The maids would chat and gossip as they cleaned and dusted the rooms. Everyone who worked in the kitchen would joke, sing, and carry on conversations constantly. The security guards who walked the grounds outside would say hi as they passed each other on their rounds. The chauffers hung out in the garage together until they were needed. Most of the bodyguards knew each other, and often trained as a group. Sanada was the only exception, since he was new, but Ootori had to assume that soon, he too would have a different set of friends. Because that always happened. All the servants got to know each other really well.

Except Ootori.

Every day, he would wake up, eat breakfast, then go upstairs and sit on the chair just outside of Master Keigo's bedroom. And he would sit for hours. Sometimes he would read a book, sometimes he would pace the hallway, but mostly, he just sat, waiting for Keigo to call for him. Rarely would anyone pass by; no one ever said anything to him.

It was lonely upstairs, in that chair. The only company he ever had was his young master.

Ootori knew he could probably make more friends, if he tried. He'd been told countless times that he was a nice person, and very easy to talk to. But he wasn't very interesting. Every time he tried to join a conversation, he would end up staying silent, simply for lack of anything worthwhile to say. The only conversations he could hold were with one person. But it was rare that he would get to talk to someone alone.

"You done with that?"

Ootori looked up to see Shishido standing over him, holding out his hand.

The butler blushed. "Oh… yes…" He picked up his plate and gave it to the waiter. Nervous, he pulled his hands away quickly, thinking that Shishido was already holding it securely. But the waiter hadn't quite gotten his hand under it, and the plate dropped to the floor, smashing into a thousand pieces.

There was a moment of silence. It seemed like everyone in the room had turned to look.

Ootori's face turned a shade of deep crimson. "Shishido-san… I am _so_ sorry!"

Shishido knelt down, beginning to pick up some of the bigger pieces. "No… It was my fault…"

"No, it wasn't!" Ootori got up out of his chair, meaning to help. But Shishido held up a hand.

"No, it's okay. This stuff happens all the time."

Ootori nervously glanced around the room. Everyone was staring. In a panic, Ootori ran out of the room.

He heard Sanada call after him. "Ootori!"

The butler went to his room and shut the door behind him, wanting very much to cry. But he didn't. He reached up to his head and made fists into his silver curls.

_Stupid!_

He took a moment to breathe, trying to get the color in his face to disappear. He stepped into the bathroom to look at himself. His cheeks were still a rich pink.

"Choutarou, why are you such an idiot?" he asked himself aloud.

A sudden knock on his door made him jump. Flustered, he ran to open it.

It was Shishido.

The waiter looked up at Ootori with dark eyes. "You, uh… forgot dessert."

Ootori didn't know what to say. "Oh. I…" It was awkward for a few more moments. He cleared his throat. "Would you… come in?"

"Sure." Shishido stepped inside. Ootori closed the door.

"Did the plate get cleaned up?"

"Taki said he'd take care of it."

"You won't get in trouble… for being here?"

Shishido rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well… I don't think so. If I do, it's no big deal."

Ootori just blinked a few times, watching Shishido play with his hands.

The waiter looked up again. "Ootori-san, right?"

The butler's heart skipped a beat. _He knows my name?_

"Yes!" he said, a little too loudly. He chuckled awkwardly. "Uh… yes, that's me. How did… how did you know?"

"Well, I heard when Sanada-san called after you…"

"Oh…"

"Why did you leave so quick?"

Ootori swallowed. "I was… I was just embarrassed. I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. Really, we break plates all the time." Shishido laughed a little. "Of course, we break more plates in the kitchen than we do in the dining halls… Some of the guys like to make up tricks, and they always mess up and drop them…"

Ootori cracked a smile. "Do you ever do that?"

Shishido blushed, but smiled back. "Sometimes…" He scratched his head. "In any case, no one really gets in trouble unless they drop a plate in front of the masters or the mistress."

"I guess that makes sense…"

"Can I… ask you something, Ootori-san?" Shishido lowered his voice.

"Yes… what is it?"

The waiter looked at the floor. "Why do you always sit alone?"

Ootori hesitated for a moment. The question shocked him. He never thought that anyone really noticed, or cared…

"I don't know… I don't really… _know_ anyone that well."

"You don't have friends here, at all?"

"Not really."

Shishido looked up. "A nice guy like you?"

Ootori felt his heart melt. "No."

Shishido was silent for a moment. Ootori explained, "I sit alone upstairs all day… I always have to be available, so I don't really get the chance to talk with anyone."

"Well… doesn't it get lonely up there?"

"Always."

They stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Ootori tried to give his best smile. "Maybe you should come up and visit me sometime."

Shishido blinked. "Oh… maybe…"

"You're probably too busy though…"

"Well… not always… I mean, it's crazy in the kitchen during the day, but…"

"Well, how about after dinner?"

Shishido glanced up. Ootori looked as though the world was hanging on his answer.

"We have to do cleanup…" Shishido saw the hope in Ootori's eyes begin to sink. "But after that…"

Ootori blinked. "After that… what?"

Shishido smiled. "I suppose I could come visit you whenever, after that."

Ootori smiled back, then said softly, "I'd like that." He laughed. "Of course, by then I'll probably be here, in my room…"

Shishido nodded. "I'll come here, then."

"You know, you really don't have to…"

"I want to," he interrupted, taking a step towards Ootori.

The butler blushed a little, but noticed the color in his cheeks being reflected in Shishido's. He relaxed. "Well, you're welcome here, anytime."

After a few minutes of nothing but sharing smiles, Ootori mentioned, "You should probably go. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Shishido jolted. "Oh, right…" He opened the door for himself. Before he left, though, he turned back to smile again. "See you around, Ootori-san."

Ootori grinned. "Call me Choutarou."

Laughing shyly, Shishido corrected himself. "See you, Choutarou."

"See you."

When Shishido closed the door, Ootori jumped onto his bed and grabbed a pillow to hold. He laughed like a little schoolboy.

Breaking a plate was the best thing he'd ever done.

…

"Forward… stop. There's a beam 5.6 cm in front of your left leg. Angle right 27 degrees. Take a large stride over the beam; it should be perpendicular to your position. Forward… slowly. Stop. We'll have to wait for the guard to pass…"

Kaidoh listened carefully to Inui's instructions, which were coming to him through a device in his ear. Inui, meanwhile, was sitting in the car a block away, giving instructions through a radio and watching his laptop screen, which showed video. He'd sewn a camera into his partner's black beanie and could monitor his every move. Inui was very satisfied with their progress. They'd gotten a lot further into the yard than Kikumaru ever had, proving that his information had not been as flawed as she made it sound.

"Forward… farther… stop. Make a full left turn, 90 degrees. You should be clear for the next 2.46 meters…"

Kaidoh did exactly as he was told. Suddenly, there came a loud noise. They'd tripped the alarm.

Inui scowled. _Damn._

Kaidoh was ready to make a run for it, but listened for directions. Inui kept his cool. "Don't go yet, Kaidoh. There's one piece of information I'd like you to confirm before we abort…"

The alarm woke Keigo up immediately. He clutched his covers, remembering that this was the second night in a row that they'd had a security breach.

"Come on, Sanada…" he mumbled after what felt like a long time.

He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Wanting to be aware of his surroundings, he started tying back his bed curtains, first on the side towards the door, then by the windows. As he was doing the second set, something caught his eye.

There was a face at the window.

Keigo let out a yelp and scrambled off of his bed, running towards the door. He ran into someone, but he didn't look up and he didn't move. He buried his head into Sanada's shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

"Master Keigo… sir?"

He was shaking. "There's someone… outside my window…"

"What?" Sanada left him and approached the window. "I don't see anyone, sir."

Swallowing, Keigo turned around to look. Sanada was right; no one was there.

He suddenly got defensive. "I'm sure of what I saw."

"I believe you, sir." Sanada looked at him. "Was it one of the guards, maybe?"

Keigo shook his head. "No. I know all the guards. This person… the face was frightening. And he was dressed all in black…"

Sanada clenched a fist. "That's a problem."

"I can't believe someone made it so far into the yard…" Keigo breathed, still shaken.

"Exactly. If they got to your window…" Sanada stopped there, not wanting to frighten Keigo any further. He studied the distressed look on the seventeen-year-old's face. "Are you alright, sir?"

Keigo blinked. "What… What do you mean?" He turned away, suddenly annoyed at himself for letting Sanada see him panic. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

Sanada sighed silently. "It's okay to be frightened, sir."

"Like you would know." Keigo crossed his arms, but didn't turn around. Suddenly, he felt almost jealous. Sanada had seen him panic… Sanada had even seen him cry. But Keigo had never seen his bodyguard even sweat.

Sanada's eyes narrowed at the accusation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't seem to be afraid of anything."

Sanada looked downward, thinking. Not afraid of anything? It must have seemed that way, to someone who hadn't known him before…

"Well… maybe I'm not easily scared, sir. But I understand fear."

"Do you?"

Sanada made a fist. Of course he knew what fear was like.

Didn't he?

He tried to remember the last time he'd been scared. It was harder than he would have thought. He searched his memories, and happened upon a certain instance, a certain night he'd tried so hard to forget…

"I've been afraid before, you know."

Keigo turned to look at him. The twenty-two-year-old was tense and serious.

"Really?" Keigo asked, skeptical.

"Yes."

"When?"

Sanada didn't respond.

Keigo walked closer to him. His eyes narrowed, trying to see through Sanada's eyes into his soul. His words came as slowly as his steps. "Tell me, Sanada. What are you afraid of?"

Sanada swallowed, not sure how to answer, but positive that he didn't want to. He lowered his eyes.

"Nothing, anymore. Sir."

Keigo uncrossed his arms. "So you don't understand."

"Why wouldn't I?"

He looked up into Sanada's eyes. "Do you know what it feels like to be targeted? To have people _after _you?"

Sanada sighed. "No, sir."

Keigo turned away again. "Well, you're about to find out."

"What?"

There was a long silence. The air hanging around them suddenly felt very heavy.

After waiting an eternity, Keigo whispered, "There's something… I never really told anyone…"

Sanada remained silent, waiting for his young master to continue.

"That day… the day Kippei was shot, I was sure…"

Another long pause. Sanada finally asked, "What, sir?"

"They weren't aiming for me. They wanted _him_ dead. They wanted me alone so they could kidnap me."

Sanada felt his mouth open slightly. It was clear now what had been going on; it made so much sense. A rich heir would be no good to anyone dead. But if they kidnapped him, they could hold him for ransom.

Why hadn't he thought of that?

Keigo turned around sharply, looking at Sanada with narrow, serious eyes.

"They want _you_ dead, too."

Sanada's heart didn't skip a single beat. He returned Keigo's stare, unmoved by the grim reality his young master had just presented to him. "I'm not afraid to die."

Keigo sighed and looked down at the carpet. "I guess that's the difference between you and Kippei." He clenched his fists. "He felt that he had… something to live for."

Sanada was silent for a moment, trying to read the tense, sorrowful expression on Keigo's face. One question burned in his mind. He couldn't help asking any longer.

"Master Keigo… Why do you always call Tachibana by his first name?"

Keigo looked up at him with pain his eyes. He knew he had to answer, but he'd never really said it aloud. Saying it would make it true, saying it would make it hurt that much worse.

"Sir?"

Keigo took a deep breath, unable to hide his emotion.

"He was my lover!"

* * *

-end of chapter 4-

_Notes…_

I have a lot of notes this time, mostly because I have the time and I feel like it.

Alright, some of you asked for it… I made Fuji a girl. XD I had that planned from the very beginning. I hope she came across nicely as a girl. I know it's slightly OOC, but once again, keep the gender switch in mind. If Fuji were a girl, she'd be a sexy, slinky little thing, I think. I hope everyone likes her this way.

Regarding Dream Pair… I realize that it makes no sense for them to hate each other. My story is that something happened between them, a long time ago. I'm thinking of writing other fics supplementing this AU. One of my first ones would be the story behind their broken relationship. Regarding their figures, I also realize that logically, when considering height vs. weight and comparing the two characters, Fuji should have a fuller figure than Eiji. But I thought the reverse fit their characters better. Fuji would be slender and look a lot like a supermodel, and Eiji would be one of those really cutesy girls with a big smile and a bustline to match, if you catch my drift. (Why do some of the most innocent, childish girls in anime have the biggest boobs?) Besides, it seemed to me like Oishi would prefer a girl with a fuller figure, and Tezuka would prefer a slender, more delicate looking girl. And I'm sorry for making Eiji all weepy and slightly OOC, once again it was for the gender reversal, and as you can see I also blamed PMS. XD

I hope the scene with Keigo and Sanada at the ice cream parlor wasn't too OOC. I struggled with that especially with Keigo. I had to find a way to sort of bring Yukimura back through him, so that Sanada would realize that he could still fall in love.

Regarding the Silver Pair… I really hope you enjoyed that scene. :D

Regarding the final scene… Once again, close to being OOC, I know. But seriously, wouldn't _you _freak out if you saw Kaidoh at your window late at night? XD Lol, jk. At least I didn't make Keigo cry again…

Regarding all OOC-ness… Contrary to the form of most fanfiction, I can promise that they'll be more in-character later. It's not the smartest way to write a fanfic, I know, but that's how this one's turning out. Usually it's better to keep them in-character at first, then, as the plot develops, let them slip OOC a little if they need to. Unfortunately, for this plotline, there's a lot of difficult stuff the characters have to work through towards the beginning. So they have to angst, which is something Atobe and Sanada don't really do. I try to make it believable, hope it comes off as such.

A cookie for anyone who actually reads all those notes. XD

Please review! Tell me what you think. Tell me if it sucked. XD I always appreciate constuctive criticism! Thanks so much for all the reviews so far!


	5. What if?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, the ghosts of Yukimura and Tachibana will haunt you until you die. Bwaha.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations

**Author's Notes: **More angst; sorry about that. XD Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Sanada went straight to Oshitari's office.

"Come in," Sanada heard when he knocked. Oshitari looked up as soon as the door opened. "Ah, Sanada. How can I help you?"

Sanada walked up to the desk. "Something odd happened last night. I thought I should report to you."

Oshitari laughed darkly, adjusting his glasses. "You've been enjoying the lack of sleep, I'm sure." He set his hands on his desk. "What happened?"

Sanada looked to the side, eyeing a maid that was dusting the knick-knacks. "Is it okay for her to be listening?"

The maid turned around at the sound of his voice, realizing that she was being discussed. Her pale blue eyes glared at him indignantly.

Oshitari looked sideways at her, as if he'd noticed her there for the first time. After a pause, his gaze turned again to Sanada. "She's fine. Shoot."

The bodyguard straightened, remembering the reason he had come. "Master Keigo said he saw someone outside his window, right after the alarm went off last night."

Oshitari's eyes narrowed. "Someone… he didn't know?"

"That's correct, sir."

The captain of the guard stood up and walked around his desk, thinking. "That's certainly… a disquieting discovery."

Sanada said nothing.

Oshitari sighed. "I suppose I could send the detectives we hired to talk to Master Keigo. Perhaps he could describe the face he saw. It's the first time anyone's ever caught a glimpse of one of the culprits." He drummed his fingers on the desk. "Somehow, though, I doubt it will help us much."

"Who are these people?" Sanada couldn't help asking.

Oshitari smiled ironically. "Wouldn't I like to know?" He then crossed his arms. "They're obviously professionals, quite good at what they do. My guess is that they were hired by some power-hungry rival of Master Atobe's. But that doesn't narrow it down much."

Sanada looked at the floor. "Are you aware… that they're trying to kidnap Master Keigo?"

"Kidnap him?"

"Yes." The guard looked up again. "Master Keigo said he's sure of it. And I think he's right."

Oshitari returned his gaze. "That _would_ make sense."

"Well, what else might they be trying to do?"

"I hadn't really thought about it." Oshitari shrugged. "My focus has simply been on making sure Master Keigo is well-protected. I'm leaving speculation to those incompetent detectives we've been working with lately." After a sigh, he asked, "Is there anything else you wanted to report?"

Sanada thought about it a moment, remembering something Keigo had said. The young master's voice echoed in his mind…

"Sanada?" Oshitari brought his focus back.

The guard swallowed. "No, sir."

"Well, then, thanks for the report. You can go."

Sanada bowed slightly and left the room, closing the door behind him. Oshitari sat down at his desk again and began working on something. It was silent for a long time.

"You've dusted that sculpture six times already."

The maid turned around. Oshitari didn't look up. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be cleaning the servants' rooms? That's where you're assigned today. Someone dusted my office just yesterday."

She gripped her feather duster, annoyed at being caught. "I guess that means you want me to go, then."

Oshitari kept writing.

"Hmph." She gave the sculpture one last flick of her duster, then headed towards the door in a huff.

"Gakuto."

She stopped, as if that one word had frozen her steps. Oshitari made his way casually around his desk, then towards her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"You've been a naughty maid, Gakuto."

Gakuto shuddered at the sound of his voice. She turned around to glare at him, still trapped in his grasp. "So why don't you just fire me?"

Oshitari ran his fingers through strands of her red hair. "You don't really want that, do you?"

A mischeivous smile crept onto her face. "Maybe I do," she retorted, despite knowing that he wasn't taking her seriously anymore.

"Oh, then I guess I'll start the paperwork." Oshitari pulled away and walked back to his desk.

"Hey!"

He took out a piece of paper. "Reason(s) for dismissal: Not doing her work… Flirting with the Director of Servant Affairs…"

"That's not funny! Yuushi!"

"…Calling the Director of Servant Affairs by his first name…"

"Stop it!" Gakuto stalked up to his side and grabbed one end of the paper, trying to free it from his grasp.

After successfully maintaining a grip on the paper, Oshitari suddenly let go of it, throwing the maid slightly off balance. He cleared off his desk using the full length of his arm, sending papers, pens, and paperweights crashing to the floor. Then he grabbed her and threw her onto the table, getting on top of the desk and pinning her there.

"Yuushi!" she squeaked.

"Naughty little maids should be punished," Oshitari murmured into her ear. He kissed her neck.

"This is hardly punishment," Gakuto giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Quiet," he said, kissing her on the lips. They kissed for a while. Oshitari's hand started making its way up Gakuto's skirt.

She smacked it away. "Yuushi!"

"Oh, don't act so chaste, you little slut."

"_What_ did you call me?"

"You heard me."

"I am not! Stop kissi... mm… not fair…"

Oshitari was kissing and nibbling a little on her ear. Gakuto brought him closer. "Take me," she breathed.

"You're so easy," he whispered, making her shudder again.

"Oh, shut up."

Oshitari pushed himself up so his body was vertical, and he was looking down at her. He took off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I'll do this on one condition."

Gakuto ran her fingers through her hair, panting. "What's that?"

"You have to actually do your work tomorrow." He bent down and kissed her again.

And again…

And again…

The feather duster lay forgotten on the floor, next to the mess of papers that had fallen off the desk.

…

During lunch, Ootori noticed that, once again, Sanada seemed distracted. The butler sighed. He'd let it go for the past fifteen minutes, but he couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Sanada-san? What are you thinking about?" He leaned forward, trying to catch a better glimpse of Sanada's eyes.

"Did you know about it?"

Ootori sat up, surprised to hear his companion respond so quickly. "Know about… what, Sanada-san?"

"Master Keigo… and Tachibana-san. Did you know?"

Ootori gripped his knife and fork, feeling a little nervous at the sudden interrogation. He didn't want to give anything away that Sanada didn't know. So he began cutting his steak and asked, "What about them?"

Sanada finally looked up, staring Ootori straight in the eye. "Did you know that they were in love?"

The butler lowered his gaze, along with his utensils. "Yes," he answered softly.

"How long?"

"How long… did I know about it? Or…"

"Either."

Ootori took a deep breath. "Well…" He hesitated, still not certain he should say too much. But then he figured that if he could trust anyone, it would be Sanada. "I've known about it… for a year and a half. Ever since…" He blushed and lowered his voice. "Ever since the first time Tachibana-san slept in Master Keigo's bed. But I guess something had been going on for months, by that time."

Sanada said nothing. His face remained unreadable.

Ootori continued. "A lot of us knew about it. Me, Kajimoto-san, Oshitari-san… The only thing I was never clear on was how much Master Atobe knew. At the very least, he knew they were pretty close, and he wasn't happy about it. That's probably why—"

The butler cut himself off. Feeling embarrassed at nearly saying too much, he started nervously cutting his steak into even smaller pieces.

"That's probably why… what?" Sanada asked, trapping Ootori in a corner.

"Nothing. I shouldn't assume anything."

"Tell me."

The butler looked up again. Sanada's eyes were full of fire.

Ootori sighed. "That's probably why… they hired _you_."

Sanada narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I think they figured that, given your personality, you and Master Keigo wouldn't get very close."

Sanada didn't ask what he meant by the remark, for which Ootori was grateful. Instead, the guard's eyes softened and he looked down towards his nearly empty plate.

"Well, they were right," he said simply. "There's no chance of that."

There was a short pause, during which Ootori studied Sanada's face. But he had never been very good at reading faces, and he was unable to tell what Sanada was thinking. A moment later, Sanada stood up and declared, "I'm finished. I'm going back to my room."

"Alright, Sanada-san. I'll come get you if Master Keigo wants to go out."

Sanada made his way between countless tables to the door. All sorts of chatter was taking place around him. As he was walking, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a table with only two people sitting at it. It was a bit odd, but he wouldn't have given it a second thought if he hadn't heard one of them say, "Hey, Kamio. Are you done with that?"

Sanada stopped and turned.

_Where have I heard that name before?_

He studied the two people. They were wearing the same uniform that he was, so they were obviously guards of some sort. The one who had spoken had sharp eyes and dark, shoulder-length, blueish-purple hair. He continued to mumble something about how he was still hungry. The other person, who Sanada assumed was Kamio, was scraping some of his food onto the other man's plate. He had red-brown hair that covered one eye.

Sanada now remembered where he'd heard the name. Keigo had mentioned Kamio when he was telling the story about Tachibana. Kamio was the guard that had pulled Keigo into the car as it was driving away.

Sanada's feet carried him to the table. "Excuse me."

The two guards looked up, not sure what to make of the visitor. Sanada struggled to find something polite to start the conversation. "I'm sorry… Are you Kamio-san?"

"Yes…" Kamio allowed, carefully. "And you are…?"

"Sanada Genichiroh, Master Keigo's new bodyguard." He held out his hand.

Kamio shot one look at his friend, then shook Sanada's hand. There was a slight hint of tension in the air.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Sanada held his hand out to the other man.

"Of course you wouldn't," he muttered in reply. "No one ever seems to know my name. If they know someone's name, they always know Kamio's name before they know my name. And when I tell them my name, they always seem to forget it…"

Kamio elbowed his friend. "Sanada-san, this is Ibu Shinji."

"Nice to meet you," Sanada said, grateful for the rescue.

"Likewise," Ibu said, shaking Sanada's hand.

Sanada sat down. He noticed Kamio clench one fist. Both men stared at the visitor.

"Kamio-san," Sanada began. "I was told that you were there when Tachibana-san was shot."

Kamio's eyes softened a little, which was something Sanada would not have expected. After a pause, he nodded. "We both were."

Sanada studied both of their faces. Both men had a hint of pain in their eyes. It was obvious that they'd known Tachibana very well, and missed him a great deal. He felt almost guilty for asking them about it. But something in him couldn't help it; he had to know more about Keigo and Tachibana's story.

Strangely enough, Sanada didn't have to ask anything before Kamio continued talking. "I was with Master Keigo in the car. Shinji actually stayed behind with Tachibana-san when we drove away."

Sanada turned to Ibu. Ibu's eyes were distant. When he spoke, Sanada had to strain to hear. "Tachibana-san was on the ground when the car drove away. I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone. I still don't understand how someone shot him and managed to stay so hidden. I couldn' t find anyone anywhere. I didn't have much time to look, though… Tachibana-san said my name and I went to him. I turned him over, tried to hold him up… He was bleeding everywhere. I've never seen so much blood. It was all over me when I got back. But I wasn't really concerned about that… I'd just seen Tachibana-san die. I heard his last words."

"His last words?" Sanada asked, quietly.

"He bled to death, so he had time to say a lot of things… Mostly about Master Keigo. I've never heard someone talk so much about one person. He kept asking me things like, 'Who's going to protect him now?' and, 'Is he going to be okay?' He said, 'Tell him I love him,' and, 'Tell him I'm sorry,' and, 'Tell him to be strong.' Then he kept saying he was afraid to die, that he was afraid of what lay ahead, afraid of being without Master Keigo…"

Ibu stopped there. He seemed unable to continue, though his face showed no signs of distress. He just simply… couldn't say anymore.

Kamio gripped the mug in front of him, which was half-filled with coffee. "His actual last words were, 'Tell Master Keigo I love him… I'm scared.' Shinji came home and told Master Keigo everything he had said."

"What did Master Keigo say?" Sanada heard himself ask.

"Absolutely nothing," Kamio answered. "He looked really calm. He just went to his room and didn't come out for two days."

There was a long silence. Sanada wasn't sure what to say. He realized that the pause was becoming awkward, so he stood up and said, "I'm sorry for asking so many questions. Thank you for answering all of them."

"Just out of curiousity," Shinji started slowly. "Why did you want to know all of that?"

Sanada returned his stare. "I'm honestly not sure."

He thanked them again, said goodbye, and left. Once he was back in his room, he sat on his bed and stared at the wall.

Somehow, he knew he had a lot to think about.

Bits of his recent conversations replayed themselves in his head.

"_Well, I think they figured that, given your personality, you and Master Keigo wouldn't get very close."_

"…_He kept asking me things like, 'Who's going to protect him now?'…"_

"_I guess that's the difference between you and Kippei. He felt that he had… something to live for."_

"'_Tell Master Keigo I love him… I'm scared.'"_

"…_He kept saying he was afraid to die, that he was afraid of what lay ahead, afraid of being without Master Keigo…"_

"_That's probably why… they hired **you**."_

Sanada couldn't get his mind off of what had happened to Tachibana. The story had somehow struck a chord with him. He couldn't relate, exactly, but he couldn't deny that his predecessor had met a horrible fate.

Something about it was scaring him.

He tried to brush the feeling aside. He had no reason to be scared. He wasn't afraid to die.

Was he?

No, he told himself. He'd found that out a long time ago.

"_You're not scared of anything, are you, kid?"_

The voice of yet another ghost startled Sanada. It was a voice he hadn't heard for a long time, or at least hadn't thought of for a while. But he heard it again in his memory, and he could see the owner of the voice looking back over the front seat of a police car, blowing his gum into a big, green bubble.

Sanada thought about it.

That was the day he had realized.

…

_Sanada was tagging along for the late shift with two officers: a guy named Jackal and his partner, Marui. They were driving around in the squad car, talking casually until they heard something coming over the radio. A robbery had occurred at a gas station somewhere nearby, and the clerk had called the police. Most likely, they would be the first there. The report came that the thief was armed. While driving, Jackal quickly asked his partner if it was really okay to take Sanada, since it was a potentially dangerous situation and Sanada was only an intern. Sanada cut in and said it was fine, asserting that if something happened, it "would be no big deal." It was here that Marui turned around and made his comment._

"_You're not scared of anything, are you, kid?"_

_The observation threw Sanada off guard, and he wasn't able to respond._

_It had been ten months since Yukimura had passed away, and for those ten months, Sanada had only felt empty. He was lost and weak. The only thing he was sure of was that he would never smile again._

_He hadn't realized that his emptiness had made him invincible._

_The hole in his heart had covered itself and hardened. The empty shells of former feelings had translated into apathy. He suddenly discovered his invulnerability. If he didn't care about anything, nothing could hurt him._

_Jackal stopped the car. They'd found the thief running across the street, trying to get away from the scene of his crime. Jackal and Marui got out of the car. Sanada was about to get out, too, but Marui turned back and said, "Stay here! This is no place for a rookie!"_

_He watched the scene unfold from the safety of the car._

"_Alright, buddy. Put down the gun," Marui was saying, pointing his own weapon at the criminal._

"_I'll shoot!" the man said desperately. "Don't take another step! I'll shoot!"_

"_Put it down… Don't try anything…" Marui called his bluff and kept inching forward, holding his gun out in front._

_But it wasn't a bluff._

_A shot rang out into the night, over the scream of the sirens. Marui slumped to the ground, bleeding from his head. Sanada watched dumbfounded as Jackal cried his partner's name. His training escaped him and instinct took over. He ran to Marui's side._

_Sanada recognized the terror in Jackal's eyes._

_The criminal was trying to get away. Sanada threw the door open and rushed after him. He tackled the theif to the ground and attempted to wrest the weapon from his hands. The man fired the gun again, recklessly shooting into the air. He managed to elbow Sanada in the stomach, stand up, and point the weapon at Sanada's head._

"_You wanna die?" he asked Sanada._

_Sanada felt calmer than he had for a long time. Lying on the ground, he glared up into the killer's eyes. All he saw there was fear._

"_I killed your friend," the man was saying. "I'll kill you too."_

_Sanada raised his head a little. "You honestly think I care?"_

_The criminal's eyes widened and his hand faltered. In an instant, Jackal was on him, taking the gun away and shoving handcuffs onto his wrists. The killer's fear-filled eyes never left Sanada._

"_You're crazy," he said, his face twisting into maniacal, nervous laughter. "Crazy!"_

_Sanada pulled himself off the ground. He supposed it was natural that a murderer would think he was crazy. Desperate criminals were all the same. Survival was always their primary goal._

_Sanada's eyes fell onto the body that lay next to the squad car. He looked at the corpse with regret._

_That could have been him._

_**Should** have, even._

_As Sanada walked away from that spot, a thought hit him for the first time. It wasn't just that he wasn't afraid to die…_

_He wanted to._

…

Sanada stood up and went to his drawer. He pulled out Yukimura's picture again, feeling almost guilty for having shoved it so roughly into the drawer. His fingers lightly swept over the glass, tracing the pale cheek on the photo underneath.

_I miss you._

He clutched the sides of the picture. It wouldn't be long now. Soon, he'd be with Yukimura again, wherever it was that death had taken him. Sanada wouldn't have to be alone much longer.

It was why he'd taken this job, after all.

It was sick, what he had done. Sure, the job paid well, but money hardly mattered when there was a good chance of getting killed within the first year. What he had done—what he was _doing_—was basically the same as committing suicide. It just wouldn't look like it.

Sanada held the picure to his chest, staring into nowhere.

It wouldn't be long now.

His heart beat a little faster, and he felt that nearly unfamiliar feeling again.

What was it that was still scaring him?

He mentally went over everything, every person in his life. There was nothing he was staying for, nothing he had to live for. He had already checked, and he had decided.

But…

That was before he'd met Atobe Keigo.

Sanada's hands dropped to his side. Feeling his heart speed up again, he thought of that certain smile, those perfectly folded hands, those confident, glimmering eyes. He even thought of the lonely tears sliding down those pale, porcelein cheeks, and the frightened, shivering body pressed desperately up against him.

The picture slipped slightly as his grip loosened, but did not fall from his fingers.

He hadn't realized how fond he had become of Keigo already. But slowly, without him knowing, something had started to happen. Some part of him now thought only of protecting the young heir, the fragile prince who refused to admit his own vulnerability, the handsome seventeen-year-old who was somehow incredibly strong, despite having a heart that was as delicate as glass and twice as beautiful. Sanada had seen evidence of this in the rare moments that Keigo had dropped his guard, when he had cried, when he had been lonely and afraid. Keigo's heart was a heart worth having, worth protecting…

Sanada now realized, with some dismay, that he was attracted to his young master. And not only that, but he was starting to really care about him.

He closed his eyes and breathed in. No. He wasn't going there again. He couldn't. It wouldn't be long now until…

His eyes opened on their own. He suddenly knew why he felt so scared.

He was afraid of being afraid.

He had grown so comfortable in his apathy, had gotten so used to being completely invincible. Death couldn't scare him; nothing could. No one could make any threat against him that he wouldn't gladly accept. He liked being unafraid. He didn't want to end up like Tachibana, afraid to die. Especially now that his fate had been sealed.

Sanada's mind drifted back to Keigo.

What if he fell in love?

Horror gripped him. There was no thought that could have scared him more. What if he fell for his young master? What if his young master fell for him? What if he did die, after all of that? What if he met the exact same fate as Tachibana Kippei?

"_What if, Sanada?"_

Yukimura's desperate cries from a distant memory filled his head.

"'_What if?' You're always asking me that, Sanada! 'What if you don't get any better?' 'What if this goes on for the rest of your life?' 'What if you die, and I'm left here all alone?' Well, what if, Sanada? What if!"_

Sanada clutched the picture, certain that Yukimura was talking to him now, using the words from his memory. He even heard him crying again.

"_Sanada…_

"_Don't you think I'm scared too?"_

Sanada lifted the picture and looked into Yukimura's eyes.

"_You're always worrying about everything, Sanada. But worrying about the things you can't change will never do you any good. Why not just let things take their course, and make the best of whatever happens?_

"_What if everything's going to be okay?"_

Sanada set the frame on the dresser.

_That's what you said, Yukimura._

Pain took a hold of him. Giving into a second thought, he put the picture face-down.

_I did what you said. I let things take their course; I tried not to worry. But then it wasn't okay. It hasn't been okay for two years. _

_That's what you said…_

_And then I lost you._

Sanada took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to maintain composure. He hadn't lost his composure even once for months, and he certainly wasn't going to now.

He heard a knock on his door.

"Sanada-san! Master Keigo wants to go out in a few minutes."

He felt his heart speed up again.

"Alright. I'll meet him outside," he heard himself say, in a confident tone.

Sanada got his things together and started out the door. He then stopped, turned back, and returned to his dresser. He picked up the photograph, kissed it gently, and carefully set it upright. Then he walked out and closed the door quietly behind him.

* * *

-end of chapter 5-

_Notes…_

You guys need to stop predicting what I'm writing! XD Two chapters ago, everyone was asking me for more Silver Pair, and I'd already written that part in the following chapter. This time, it was "where's the Naughty Pair?" and, what do you know? I'd already written that in this chapter! XD Great minds all think alike I guess. (Or, at least, the minds of fangirls…)

Random Side Note: Writing for Shinji is a lot of fun. XD 'Nuff said.

I apologize for the faceless criminal. I was going to make it clear that he was another character from PoT, but I realized that there would be no way that the police would find out who he was in that scene. XD So if you're looking for a face to put to the guy who murdered poor Marui, in my head, I was picturing Akutsu from Yamabuki. XD Because I hate him.

I hope Sanada wasn't too OOC. I think Sanada is capable of angst, but his face would never show it. You may notice that I often use the phrase "he heard himself say" with him. I wanted to depict a sense of detachment from what he is feeling to what would actually come across to someone watching.

_Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	6. Almost

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters and don't claim to. If you try to sue me Shinji and Kamio will beat you up, in honor of Tachibana's memory.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations

**Author's Notes: **New title for this chapter: Sidetracked. XD I originally did not plan this part. But once I had the idea (with a little help), I decided to go with it. And I think it's actually bringing my story together really nicely.

Enjoy!

* * *

When Sanada went outside to where the limousine was waiting, he was surprised to find that Keigo was already there, waiting.

"What took you so long?" came the usual question.

"I came as soon as Ootori came and got me," he replied, cooly.

Keigo studied his face for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

Sanada blinked, thrown off guard. It wasn't often that people asked him that. It wasn't that they didn't care, but no one could usually tell when something was bothering him—he had always hidden it so well. Sanada couldn't believe how observant his young master was, if he could see that much.

"No, sir. Nothing's wrong," he lied, putting on his sunglasses.

Keigo stared at him another moment, obviously trying to decide whether or not to believe him. He gave up finally and ducked into the car with a sigh. Sanada followed and closed the door behind him.

The car ride was quiet most of the way. Sanada stared out his window, watching the sun drop lower and lower in the sky. They had been driving for a while, and Sanada noticed that the road was following the coastline.

"Where are we going?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Keigo had that knowing smile on his face. "Just dinner. My parents decided to go out to eat tonight, so I thought that I would do the same."

Sanada didn't turn away immediately, but looked at his young master with suspicion. For one thing, it was still pretty early for dinner. For another, they had been driving for almost forty minutes. Keigo's restaurant choice for the evening must have been something quite special, to drive so far.

When they arrived at their destination, the sky was just starting to turn gold. Sanada studied the location. There were no restaurants anywhere in sight; all he saw was a bay populated by shining, white boats.

"We're here, sir," Kajimoto said in an unusally cheerful tone of voice. Sanada turned to look at him. It was then that he noticed that Kajimoto wasn't wearing his normal, navy blue uniform, but a white suit and hat decorated with black and gold.

When Kajimoto opened the door for them, the chauffer noticed Sanada giving him strange looks. He laughed. "Sanada, you didn't think I only drove cars for a living, did you?"

"Actually, I did," he admitted.

"I only do that to get paid full-time. Normally, I prefer to drive something much larger."

Sanada was slowly catching on. "How much larger?"

Kajimoto pointed. Sanada's eyes followed his hand until they fell on a gorgeous white yacht, one of the largest boats in the bay.

"That's _yours_?" he asked, turning to Keigo.

Keigo was glowing. "Yes, she's all mine. Father bought a much bigger one, and he said I could use this one whenever I wanted."

Sanada squinted as he looked, trying to picture a "much bigger" boat. The image didn't come successfully.

Captain Kajimoto led them to the dock, and they boarded. The yacht looked even more enormous up close. Sanada could already tell, from the outside deck, that the boat was lavishly furnished inside. Keigo noticed him looking into one of the windows and pulled him away.

"I'll show you around later. Right now, let's watch the sunset."

Sanada raised an eyebrow.

"Where to, sir?" Kajimoto asked, putting his hands formally behind his back.

"Just around the bay a few times, Captain," Keigo replied.

"Very good, sir." And he was gone.

Keigo led Sanada to the other side of the deck, the side that would be facing the sun. The boat started moving a few moments later. Keigo sighed happily and placed his elbows on the railing, feeling the breeze play with his hair.

Sanada folded his arms over the rail, joining Keigo in watching the colorful sunset. The more he looked, the more he had to admit to himself that it was beautiful.

The beauty of a sunset was not something most people would hesitate to admit. But for Sanada, nothing in the world had seemed anything but gloomy for two full years. For that time, his eyes had been staring straight ahead, not even once turning to look at the ocean, a beautiful sunset, trees full of cherryblossoms, the star-studded night sky, or anything else that was beautiful. And if someone pointed out such a thing, he would spare a glance in its direction, agree if agreement was required, then turn away with a renewed sense that the only truly beautiful thing in existence had already departed this world.

But now, as he stood next to Keigo and looked at the sunset, he saw beauty again.

Sanada turned to look at his young master. He would have turned away again immediately, but his gaze lingered for a moment, and the more it did so, the more he couldn't turn away. Keigo didn't turn to face his observer; it seemed that the shining water and the orange sphere of fire in the sky had conspired and cast a spell on him. So Sanada was free to look as long as he wanted. The idea that he _wanted_ to look in the first place wasn't striking him as oddly as it should have been. It only took him a minute to realize that turning back to the sunset would be like seeing a child's drawing after studying a painting by Rembrant. The sky right now was beautiful, but the living work of art next to him was more beautiful still.

And he couldn't help admitting it any longer.

Feeling somehow like a traitor, he stared at Keigo few more moments while the sight burned itself in his memory. Then he forced himself to turn back the colorful child's drawing.

Keigo had noticed Sanada staring at him for a few minutes already. He had conciously decided not to turn and look, but why he did this and let the staring continue, he didn't know. He should have stopped it when it started. He was almost certain what had been going through the bodyguard's head, and he didn't like it at all.

The last thing he wanted was for Sanada to feel sorry for him.

That must have been what the twenty-two-year-old was feeling, wasn't it? Nothing but pity. Because, though Keigo would never show it and was doing his best to change it, he could feel nothing but pitiful next to his bodyguard. He had certainly been _acting _pitiful for the past few days, and Sanada had witnessed almost every minute of it.

Keigo glanced sideways at Sanada, hoping he wouldn't notice. The seventeen-year-old felt his heart skip a beat or two as all of the feelings he'd been trying to supress came back in a wave. Next to him was a perfect picture of strength and dignity, like a Roman statue of some ancient hero, idealized and carved by a master artist. But the statue was breathing, and his raven hair was blowing in the wind as he gazed at the setting sun. Keigo studied his face, the strong, sculpted profile and the stone-cold expression. And he told himself to stop, but his eyes wouldn't turn away, they wouldn't even blink.

Trying to find another way to end his train of thought, he broke the silence. "There's really nothing else in this world quite like a sunset."

Sanada turned to look at him again. He turned away.

"They're just always so… picturesque, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" was all Sanada said in reply. It seemed that his mind was somewhere else.

The silence was begging to be filled. Keigo thought for a moment, then said, "The sun sets at the end of every single day, and yet… how often do we really stop to watch it?" He laughed a little, unsure of what he was saying. "It's strange, really… I mean, what in our brief lives is so important that we can't spare a minute to enjoy the most beautiful thing in the world?"

"It's not the most beautiful thing in the world," Sanada observed, quietly.

Keigo almost blushed at his own poor choice of words. "Well, maybe not _the _most—"

He stopped and turned, suddenly surprised at what Sanada just said. The twenty-two-year-old was trying to get at something deeper.

"What's more beautiful?" Keigo whispered.

Sanada's lips parted, but nothing came out.

Keigo felt suddenly frustrated at being unable to see Sanada's eyes. He wanted to study the bodyguard's face, wanted to know what was he was thinking…

"Take off your sunglasses, Sanada. For heaven's sake, it's not bright out anymore." He reached up himself and slid the glasses off of Sanada's face, exposing two shining, mahogany-brown eyes.

Keigo stared up into those eyes, distracted, still holding the sunglasses lightly in both hands. The sun was blazing in Sanada's eyes, illuminating his tan complexion, and making him glow all over.

Keigo forgot to breathe.

Sanada stared steadily at Keigo, who was gazing back at him from underneath long, perfect lashes. His silvery hair played freely in the wind, and water lights danced in the ocean of his eyes.

Sanada instinctively stepped closer and gently removed a strand of hair that had blown in front of Keigo's face.

Keigo slowly tipped his head upward. Sanada leaned a little closer. They both closed their eyes…

At the same moment, they both became still, realizing what they were about to do. Neither of them pulled back right away. They both waited, wanting the other to make the first move, wanting the other to take the blame. They waited seemingly forever, until they knew they couldn't wait anymore. Sanada opened his eyes, then Keigo.

Keigo was the first to pull his body and his gaze away. He felt a sudden chill. "Let's go inside," he suggested, as calmly as he could. "I'll show you around."

He stepped away from the railing, entering the nearest door. It was a moment or two before Sanada followed.

…

"Talk to me, Kaidoh."

It was utterly silent in the dark corner room that Inui and Kaidoh shared. Inui was sitting on his partner's bed, and Kaidoh was nestled under the covers, facing the other direction. Inui put his hand on Kaidoh's shoulder.

"Kaidoh…"

The eighteen-year-old hissed in reply, hitting Inui's hand away.

Inui stood up. "Oh, what are you so angry about, anyway?"

Kaidoh sat up, glaring at him. "I could've gotten killed, you know."

Inui looked right back, saying nothing in reply.

"I had a hell of a time trying to get out of there," Kaidoh continued, breathlessly. "Those guards have guns. I should have been shot while I was climbing the side of the house. You're lucky I came out of there alive."

Inui raised an eyebrow. "_I'm_ lucky?"

Kaidoh glared at him for a moment, then hissed and turned away again.

The older man knelt on the bed and grabbed a hold of Kaidoh's shoulders. "Don't pretend that you don't get your fair share out of our relationship," he whispered into his ear. He then reached around and pulled up one of the sleeves of Kaidoh's long-sleeved, black shirt, revealing bandages wrapped around his wrist. "Don't forget: you like sharp blades for more than one reason."

Inui dug his nails into Kaidoh's shoulders. The younger man shuddered.

"Besides, Kaidoh, remember that you owe me. _I_ was the one who pulled you off the street and got you into this gang. If I hadn't, you'd still be living in the gutter playing with razor blades you found in a dumpster."

Another hiss.

Inui pulled down the collar of Kaidoh's turtleneck, barely revealing a few crimson marks. Then he kissed his neck so roughly that the eighteen-year-old gritted his teeth in pain. Inui pushed Kaidoh down onto his pillow, pressing himself up against him. He kissed his partner, biting his lip a little…

A loud, low-pitched beep came from the intercom by the door. Inui sighed. "Inui! Kaidoh! In my office. Now."

When they got to Tezuka's office a few minutes later, Inui was a bit surprised to see Momoshiro and Echizen there, standing in the corner.

Tezuka's arms were crossed. "You disappoint me, Inui."

Inui said nothing.

"Fortunately for you, this is the first time you've failed me." The boss turned his chair around to face the window. "For that reason, I've decided to abandon plan 'B,' at least for the time being."

"So you're sending Momoshiro to scope out the situation on plan 'A,' am I right?" Inui predicted, pushing up his glasses.

"Exactly. Along with Echizen, in case they get a better shot than they did last time."

Inui sighed. "I'm still not sure I understand the _logic _behind giving our youngest assassin the hardest job, not to mention the best set of weapons."

"Only because he's the sharpest shooter we have in this gang," Momoshiro explained cheerfully, putting Echizen in a headlock. "This kid's got skills."

"Get off, Momo-senpai," Echizen growled, unfazed.

"I don't know _why _you put up with him, Echizen," Kaidoh muttered, glaring at Momoshiro.

"That's easy." Momoshiro grinned, flexing his muscles. "Echizen likes big guns."

"Get out, all four of you," came a gruff voice from behind the chair.

"Another migrane, Tezuka?" Inui guessed.

"_Out_."

Silently, the four assassins crept out of the room.

…

"I have _never _seen a screen so big, much less on someone's private yacht."

Sanada stared in awe at the screen in front of him. Keigo smiled, thoroughly amused. "You obviously haven't seen our home theater."

"Does this system have surround-sound?"

"Yes."

"Hi-Def?"

"Of course."

Sanada crossed his arms. "I'm impressed."

Keigo tossed his head. "Yes, well, apparently, impressing you is quite expensive."

"Should I even ask how much it cost?"

"No."

There was a pause. Keigo looked sideways at Sanada.

"Well," he started. "We could watch a movie later, if you really want." Here, Sanada turned to look at him. "But right now, I think it's time we had dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely famished."

With another toss of his head, Keigo was sauntering out of the room with Sanada close behind.

They entered the dining room at the back of the boat, which was the only part of the yacht Sanada had not yet seen. It looked like a gorgeous restaurant with one table. The wooden floor was beautifully polished, the chandelier was strung with thousands of crystals, and the chairs were lush, wine-red velvet. The table itself was furnished with a fine, white table cloth and candlelight, and it was being set for two. But the first thing Sanada noticed upon entering the room was the person who was setting the table.

"Ootori?"

"Oh, hello, Sanada-san! Master Keigo." The butler stopped what he was doing and bowed politely. "Dinner's almost ready, sir. And, I must say, it smells _delicious._" His eyes twinkled. "Tonight's chef went all-out."

Sanada heard a soft banging noise, and turned to face what he had to assume was the door the kitchen. The waiter named Shishido was standing there, wearing a chef's jacket, glaring at Ootori. "Sure, Choutarou, get their hopes up."

"But, Shishido-san! Your cooking is wonderful! I tasted everything myself!" Ootori finished setting the table and followed Shishido into the kitchen.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's as good as you think it is."

"Yes, it is! It's perfect!"

"I'm still practicing…"

Keigo and Sanada were left alone in the room.

"Well," Keigo began. "Shall we sit?"

Sanada did so, after a moment's hesitation. He felt slightly uncomfortable again, sharing a table with his young master. The whole atmosphere felt entirely too much... like a date. The chandelier, the candles, the roses on the shelf behind Keigo, the intimate setting, the—

"Champagne?" Ootori appeared again, this time with a bottle.

Keigo smiled. "Ah, yes. Please." He leaned back so Ootori could get to his glass.

Sanada looked at him carefully. "Champagne, sir? Aren't you… underage?"

"Father doesn't care. I've been allowed to have alcohol since I was seven."

Ootori walked over to the other side of the table. "Champagne, Sanada-san?"

Sanada looked up at Ootori, not sure what to say. He didn't drink much, simply because he knew just how easily it could turn into a downward spiral. But he sat back in his chair and consented, "Sure."

Ootori poured his glass, and then left them to enjoy their salads. He was about to make his way down the very narrow hallway that led back to the kitchen, but some curious part of him made him stop. He turned back and pressed himself against the door he had just come through, trying to listen while watching through the tiny window. Keigo and Sanada were talking sporadically, but the conversation seemed awkward at this stage.

Still… at least they were talking…

Shishido came up beside Ootori a few minutes later. "Hey, Choutarou, what are you doing?"

"Watching," the butler replied. "I can't tell if it's going well or not…"

"What, they hate my salad?"

"_No_, not that, Shishido-san. I'm talking about the conversation."

There was a short pause. Then Shishido looked up and asked softly, "What exactly do you want to happen?"

Ootori sighed. "I'm not really sure. It's just that… well, I want them both to be happy. I want to see Sanada-san smile for once, and I want Master Keigo to be as happy as he was before Tachibana-san died. So I guess…" He swallowed, afraid to say it.

"What? You guess… what?"

"I guess I want them… to fall in love."

They continued looking through the window for a few minutes.

"The conversation's slowing," Ootori observed suddenly. "We should serve the next course."

"Right."

They both turned at the same time, getting themselves stuck. Ootori laughed nervously. While he'd been spying, he'd forgotten how narrow the hallway was.

They both turned back to face each other. Shishido swallowed. He was pressed up against his companion rather strangely; his nose was brushing against Ootori's chin, and he could feel the butler's breathing against his own chest.

Now they were both laughing a little nervously.

They tried to get around each other, but they both ended up going the same direction at the same time, pushing themselves closer together. Ootori felt his face turn red, and, looking down, he could see that Shishido's cheeks were crimson as well. They stood still.

"You first, Choutarou."

"Oh, no, Shishido-san. You go ahead."

"Right." Shishido took a deep breath and headed down the hall, with Ootori following behind.

Meanwhile, there was silence in the dining room.

Sanada shifted a little uncomfortably in his chair. He wondered again how he had ended up here, and wished that he had been offered the chance to eat by himself, in a separate room. He looked across the table at his companion, who was filling his own champange glass for the third time.

Keigo had something up his sleeve.

As he looked at his young master, Sanada's mind made its way back to what had happened an hour earlier, as the sun had been setting. It terrified him. He had been millimeters away from kissing Keigo, millimeters away from doing what he'd secretly sworn not to, millimeters away from sealing his every fear into reality.

And he knew now that Keigo wouldn't have stopped him.

He had already known that it might have been happening. At the very least, he had dreaded it so much that his fears alone made it a possibility. And now he knew that it was true. Keigo wanted this. Keigo wanted there to be something between them.

But why? Why would he _want _that, after what had happened to Tachibana?

Keigo noticed Sanada examining him. This time, he decided to put a stop to it. He turned to look at his bodyguard, forcing eye contact until Sanada turned away.

Now, Keigo was free to look at him.

He studied the bodyguard's expression. Sanada's face was troublesome; Keigo often found that he couldn't read it. He now realized how little he knew about his bodyguard. His mind, too, drifted back to what had almost happened earlier.

He would have never guessed that they would come that close.

Keigo carefully took another sip of champange, staring Sanada down, thinking. He had studied Sanada from day one, kept track of his every movement and expression, and yet he had never seen this coming. Sanada had almost kissed him.

Obviously, there was something he was missing. There was something behind that stoic expression that he couldn't see.

What was it?

A smirk crept onto Keigo's face. Whatever it was that Sanada was thinking, whatever it was that he was hiding, one thing was obvious…

_He wants me._

They were halfway through the main course when Keigo finally spoke. "You look uncomfortable, Sanada."

Sanada looked up from his food, then back down. "I guess I'm just not sure why I'm here."

Keigo couldn't help a smile. "What do you mean?"

The bodyguard sighed and looked his young master straight in the eye. "I highly doubt there's any danger of you getting shot here, sir."

The seventeen-year old laughed lightly and took another sip of champange. "Maybe I just wanted to spend my evening with you."

Sanada continued to stare at Keigo. There was an odd expression on his face that caused Keigo to think over his words.

"Perhaps I didn't… phrase that correctly."

"Well, then, why am I here?"

"I…" Keigo faltered, slightly startled by Sanada's forceful interrogation. The bodyguard's eyes glimmered in the candlelight, and Keigo struggled to find his excuse. "I wanted… I wanted to apologize."

Sanada seemed to relax. "Apologize, sir?"

Keigo's looked at him very seriously. "For what I… said the other night."

Sanada felt his muscles tense up slightly with the memory.

"_He was my lover!"_

Keigo traced the rim of his glass with his finger. "It wasn't the sort of thing I should have really blurted out so suddenly. I didn't mean to lose my composure." He placed the glass on the table. "So, I suppose… I'm sorry."

Sanada didn't respond right away. He wasn't sure how to reply, simply because he didn't think that the apology was necessary.

"If it was true," he began softly. "There's no reason you shouldn't have said it."

"You don't seem to understand the concept of tact, Sanada." Keigo looked to the side, out the windows behind Sanada. "There are times when some things shouldn't be said."

Sanada bristled a little, feeling patronized. "Alright, so tell me. Why shouldn't it have been said?"

Keigo resumed eye contact. He was beating around the bush on purpose, wanting to know what his companion was thinking.There had to be something going through that head. He had revealed to Sanada a fact that few people knew, something that he regretted saying now, something that should have been shocking. But Sanada was acting like he had said the most natural thing in the world, asking him, even, _why _he shouldn't have said it.

Keigo stood, taking his glass from the table. "I'm a fool to trust you so soon in our… so soon after we met."

Sanada didn't get up, but looked up at him with intense, honest eyes. "I have no one to tell, sir."

Keigo rolled his eyes and walked to the window. "That's not the point, Sanada."

There was another silence. Keigo sighed, then took another sip from his glass. Perhaps he should just ask directly. "It didn't bother you… what I told you?"

Sanada looked down at his plate, thinking back. "That you…" he trailed off as soon as he started speaking, unsure of what he was expected to say. He turned around in his chair to look at Keigo. "_Why_ would it bother me, sir?"

Keigo was studying him, obviously looking for something. "You didn't find it… somewhat _queer_…" he tried.

Sanada hesitated a minute before admitting, "I'm sorry, sir, I don't quite get what you mean."

Keigo sighed again, closing his eyes and turning back to the window. "Never mind, then. It's not important." Another sip.

Sanada took a deep breath, then reluctantly stood up and went to join his young master. He gazed out the window. It was dark outside, and the lights from the shore reflected like bright stars on the water.

"It's a lovely evening, isn't it?" Keigo observed.

"Yes… it is," Sanada had to agree.

Keigo looked down into his glass, and noticed part of Sanada's reflection. He smiled a little. As frustrating as the current situation was, part of him was enjoying it. And as he stood there, sensing his bodyguard less than a foot away, smiling didn't seem so unnatural anymore.

"You know something, Sanada?" he said suddenly.

"Yes, sir?"

"I think… I'm going to be okay now," Keigo said with resolve, knowing that Sanada would understand what he meant. "It took me a week, and I wasn't sure I could, but… somehow, I think I'll be okay."

Predictably, Sanada didn't respond. Keigo chugged down the rest of his glass, then looked back out into the darkness.

Desperate to fill the silence, he commented, "I've always loved the way the lights dance on the water at night."

Sanada still didn't say anything. Keigo blinked a few times, starting to feel the boat rock.

"It's so… mesmerizing." The lights swayed on the water, as did the lights above it. Keigo blinked again, then swallowed. "It's almost… dizzying…"

He lost his balance slightly. Instantly, Sanada had his hands on Keigo's shoulders.

"Are you alright?" he asked, taking the glass away and setting it aside. "That was your fifth glass, sir…"

"Sanada…" Keigo put one of his hands on Sanada's.

Sanada stood still, waiting.

Keigo laughed a little. "Sanada… I… We're… What we're doing…" His thoughts came out confused and breathless.

"What's that, sir?" Sanada whispered.

Keigo turned around, clinging to his bodyguard's jacket. "You have to imagine… how hard it's been for me… Losing Kippei, and then… Then, _you_ come along…" He laughed again. "And I'm not sure… I'm not…"

There was a long silence.

"Sir?"

Keigo tore himself away. "Well, what did you expect me to do? To have someone, and then suddenly… _no one_…"

He looked up into Sanada's eyes, looking for something… anything…

Nothing.

He narrowed his eyes, feeling both angry and dizzy.

"No," he declared loudly. "You wouldn't understand."

Keigo made his way quickly out the door, leaving Sanada standing there, not sure what to do. It wouldn't have bothered him, normally, what Keigo had just said, but the problem was that he _did _understand. And something in him wanted Keigo to know, but didn't want to actually say it.

So, like an idiot, he just stood there.

Keigo walked out onto the bow, and looked out onto the water and the lights. The cool air was helping his head, but the wind was tearing through his thin shirt and he couldn't keep from shivering. He rubbed his freezing arms.

_Sanada…_

Keigo felt his eyes narrow and start to sting in the wind. He had been wrong; he wasn't going to be okay. He couldn't be, now that Kippei was gone and the only person he had now was this unfeeling, no-good—

Keigo suddenly felt something heavy drop onto his shoulders. He turned around to see Sanada walking away, back towards the cabin. He blinked.

_Sanada…_

He pulled the warm jacket tightly around him, turning back to the front of the boat. He continued to gaze into the evening, trying to make himself believe that what had just happened proved nothing.

_He doesn't care._

Keigo slipped his arms into the sleeves of Sanada's jacket, then leaned against the railing and let his mind wander.

* * *

-end of chapter 6-

_Notes…_

I don't have much to say on the first scene, except that once again, I had not originally planned this. I'm pretty happy with it, and I think it really helps the story as far as development goes. Hope you all enjoyed the eye candy. XD

Some notes on Inui and Kaidoh… Keep in mind that Seigaku is now, essentially, evil. I wanted to give each character a little extra something to make them seem more sinister. And I found it somehow very easy to make Inui a full-blown sadist; then, of course, what does that make Kaidoh? I hope no one minds. It works in my head, really XD … It's also important to the story a bit later…

Back on the boat… I love how the Silver Pair shoved their way into this. XD I adore them so. Big, warm cookie to anyone who knows what movie this was inspired by. But don't tell. ; )

I must admit that getting Keigo drunk is something I've always wanted to do in a fanfic. I wish I could have found a more humourous setting for it; I may do that some other time. Keigo just seems like the type who would drink alcohol… those of you who have heard his latest single know it's canon, lol.

HUGE thanks to my editor for this chapter. She helped me a lot, not just with minor corrections, but also with ideas and continuity. Thanks so much!

_Next chapter… Sanada and Keigo have their first scare, and tensions rise. Keigo crosses the line, and Sanada is forced to face his past._


	7. Memory

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Atobe will make you walk the plank off his yacht. (His yacht has a plank?)

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **Okay, folks, this is it. Just a little more angst, and then we're done, I promise! XD Enjoy.

* * *

"Kajimoto."

Kajimoto turned from his position at the steering wheel of the yacht to see Sanada standing in the doorway of the cabin.

"Ah, Sanada. What brings you here?" he asked with a smile.

Sanada walked forward. "You can pull into the dock next time we come around. I think Master Keigo's ready to go home."

"Alright, we'll be back in about fifteen minutes." Kajimoto studied Sanada suspiciously for a moment. "Where is your jacket?"

Sanada came up beside him and pointed out the front window, which had a clear view of the front of the boat. Kajimoto craned his neck so he could see. Keigo was down there, leaning on the railing, wearing a black blazer that was much too big for him.

The boat's driver was trying to put the pieces together. "Master Keigo _asked _you to give—"

"No."

Kajimoto looked suspicious again. Sanada stared right back.

"He was cold," he said, then turned to leave.

When Sanada was gone, Kajimoto looked down again at Keigo. He wasn't sure whether to smile to or sigh.

_And so it begins._

Thirteen minutes later, they were back at the dock. Sanada was in the bar talking with Ootori when the boat stopped moving.

"Are you coming back with us, Ootori?" Sanada asked, getting up.

Ootori smiled sweetly. "No, I have to help clean up the kitchen and such. Shishido-san and I will meet you guys back at home."

Sanada met up with Kajimoto by the limousine. Keigo joined them a few minutes later, seemingly in a better mood. Kajimoto opened the door for him.

"Thank you, Kajimoto," he said.

"Um… sir?" Sanada stopped Keigo before he got in.

"What is it, Sanada?"

"Can I have my—"

"No." Keigo gave him a smirk and ducked into the car. Sanada sighed and followed.

The ride was dark and rather quiet. Keigo gazed out the window as street lights passed by, and Sanada found himself watching him do so. About five minutes after they had left the bay, Sanada noticed Keigo's eyelids gradually dropping lower and lower.

"Tired, sir?" he felt the need to comment.

Keigo blinked, and his eyes shot wide open. "No. Why?"

Sanada was almost, _almost _tempted to smile. "Never mind. Sorry."

He continued to observe his young master. Keigo pulled the oversized jacket a little closer around him, and his head found a little crevice between the seat and the window. He fought sleep a little longer, and then his eyelids again began their descent. Minutes later, his eyes were closed altogether, and his breathing became slow and even.

He looked peaceful.

As Sanada looked at the sleeping seventeen-year-old, he was able to believe that Keigo _would_ be okay, like he said. Sanada did feel sorry for what had happened to him, but the feeling was nothing like pity. Considering the circumstances, the way Keigo was acting was hardly pathetic.

It was even, in a way, admirable.

Keigo had found a way to work through his pain without letting it overwhelm him. And he was going to be able to move on, but he wasn't running away. His heart wouldn't become cold or hard. Instead, he was going to heal.

Sanada sighed. How was it that Keigo could make it look so easy?

He leaned forward a little, studying his young master. The golden-orange light from the streetlamps passed over Keigo's face, revealing his serene, perfect features every couple of seconds. He looked rather… like an angel.

_I wonder what sort of dreams he's having._

As Sanada watched, he could only determine that his young master was having nice dreams. And suddenly he wanted to know exactly what these dreams were about. But he knew he'd never find out. He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.

They soon arrived at the mansion. Kajimoto turned around and whispered to Sanada, "Are you going to wake him up?"

Sanada sat up. The fact that he had a choice had not occurred to him.

"No," he whispered back. He opened the door almost silently and got out of the car. Then he reached inside and carefully slipped his arms underneath Keigo's sleeping form. He carried him inside.

When Sanada got up to Keigo's bedroom and set him on his bed, he stopped for a moment. Something again seemed familiar.

He didn't even have to ask himself what it was.

"_Don't let go…"_

Sanada held onto Keigo for just a brief moment before pulling back and standing up. He stepped back a little into the darkness, letting himself remember.

…

_Sanada sat holding Yukimura while they watched a movie together, nestled under a blanket. Yukimura had been home for a few nights now, finally having been released from the hospital for the last time. Sanada had stayed by his side for those few, precious days, never once leaving unless Yukimura needed something. He didn't want to waste any of the time they had left together._

_The movie ended, and it was getting very late. Yukimura said he wanted to go to his bedroom, and Sanada carried him there, assuming the entire time that he would be sleeping on the couch again tonight. But when he set Yukimura on the bed, Yukimura's arms remained around his neck._

"_Don't let go…" Yukimura whispered._

_Sanada wasn't sure what he'd heard. "What?"_

"_Don't let go just yet, Sanada."_

_Sanada obediently pulled Yukimura's fragile body a little closer._

"_What is it?" he whispered._

"_Sanada…" Yukimura's arms held tighter, but not too tight because he wasn't very strong. "Sanada… I might die any day now, and I don't want to go just yet…"_

"_I understand…"_

"_No, I mean… There's something I want to do first. Before I go."_

_Sanada waited._

"_But, Sanada, you'll have to… help me."_

_Sanada pulled back and sat on the bed so he could look into Yukimura's eyes. He clasped one pale, thin hand in his own. "Anything. What is it?"_

_Yukimura's eyes flashed with a glimmer of their former light._

"_Be with me tonight."_

_Sanada blinked. "What?"_

_Yukimura's hands grasped at Sanada's shirt. "Sanada, before I die, I want to spend one night with you. I want to be with you all night and fall asleep in your arms. I want to wake up beside you…"_

"_Wait, Yukimura, what are you saying?"_

"_Make love to me, Sanada."_

_Sanada was dumbfounded. He stared into Yukimura's deep blue eyes, which showed a mixure of intensity and sorrow._

"_Are you sure… you're strong enough for that?" Sanada was starting to sweat a little, afraid. "I don't want… anything to happen…"_

_Yukimura reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. "I will wake up with you tomorrow. I promise."_

_With shaking hands, Sanada wrapped his arms around Yukimura's waist._

"_If this is what you want, I'll do it."_

"_It's what I want." Yukimura craned his neck to kiss Sanada on the forehead. "Is it what you want, Sanada?"_

_Yukimura knew him too well. Sanada couldn't hide his emotion any longer, and he held Yukimura as close to him as he could. "Yes, it is."_

_They pulled back after a moment. Sanada tenderly brought Yukimura's face towards him, and kissed him, finding it very hard to stop._

_Finally, he didn't have to._

_He forced himself to, though, for a second, so he could say, "I love you."_

"_I love you, too," Yukimura replied gently. A single tear rippled down his cheek._

_Sanada began crying at the sight. "I'm going to miss you, Yukimura. So much…"_

_Yukimura's smile disappeared, and more tears escaped his eyes. "Oh, Sanada…"_

_They fell into each other's arms. It was a long time before they let go._

_Slowly, Yukimura reached up to the buttons on his shirt and began undoing them. Sanada swallowed and pulled his own shirt off over his head. Their eyes never left each other._

_Sanada helped slip Yukimura's shirt off his shoulders. "Are you sure… you're ready, right now?"_

_Yukimura nodded. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."_

"_Me too." Sanada kissed him again, kissing him over and over, letting free all of the love and affection he'd been forced to hold back for so long._

_They spent the night away like this, sharing love and kisses and every part of themselves._

…

Sanada stumbled backwards, looking for the wall, feeling his legs give way slightly beneath him. His hand found the wall and he leaned against it. He closed his eyes, trying to stop the memory from going any further.

This was too hard for him.

All the memories, all the feelings that had been coming back lately were things that he'd locked away the moment he'd said goodbye. For two years, he'd decided not to think about it. But now, everything was coming back, and he was forced to face the emotions he had dreaded.

Sorrow… Pain… Loss…

Loneliness.

Sanada stood still for a moment and opened his eyes. He thought and struggled, trying to decide if the answer was very literally right in front of him.

He left the room and the question, still unanswered.

Sanada didn't sleep very well that night. He lay awake for hours, thinking, but trying not to think. And when feelings replaced thoughts, he tried to stop those too. Eventually, the nothingness was overcome by a restless sleep, full of dreams drowned in questions.

…

"Good morning, Master Keigo."

The light, cheerful voice woke Keigo from his sleep. But Keigo's face remained buried in his pillow.

A gentle hand shook him slightly. "Master Keigo?"

"No."

The hand went away. "'No,' sir? 'No'… what?"

Keigo sighed and lifted his head a little. "If your head wishes to remain attached to the rest of your body, Ootori, I highly suggest you let me sleep in today."

Ootori chuckled. "I already did, sir. It's past ten." He walked over to open the curtains, adding, "I've never seen you like this, sir. You're normally so cheerful in the mornings."

Keigo sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, well, I was having nice dreams. It seemed a shame to interrupt them."

Ootori studied his young master, and noticed him massaging his brow.

"And you have a headache, sir?"

"And I have a _slight _headache," Keigo admitted reluctantly, squinting in the sudden light.

"Well, I suppose you could stay in bed longer, sir. I just thought you might get mad if I didn't wake you up at some point."

"Mm." Keigo nodded slowly, lost in thought.

"Sir?"

"Ootori," Keigo started, looking more awake. "Last night… How did I get up here? I must have fallen asleep in the car; I don't recall coming upstairs…"

"Sanada-san carried you up here," Ootori explained with a smile as he finished tying back the drapes.

"He did?"

"Yes, sir. That's what Kajimoto-san told me."

Keigo lowered his gaze to his hands. He let his fingers play against the cuff of the jacket he was still wearing as he tried to recall everything that had happened. None of it made much sense, now that the day was new and he had the chance to really think about it. He had the distinct feeling that he was missing a piece of the puzzle, one single piece that would bring everything together.

He looked up. "What's Sanada doing right now?"

The light on the butler's face seemed to dim a little. "He went back to his room right after breakfast. I kind of hope he's sleeping… He looked really tired this morning, and he said he didn't sleep very well…"

Keigo's eyes narrowed. This felt even more suspicious.

He climbed out of bed. "Go tell him I want to go out. I'll be ready to go in about thirty minutes."

Ootori was curious, but he knew better than to ask questions. "Yes, sir."

Keigo washed and got dressed, then went out to the car. Sanada was already waiting when he got there, looking just as tired as Ootori had said.

"I apologize if I woke you up," Keigo said offhandedly.

Sanada sighed. "I wasn't sleeping, sir. Don't worry."

They got in the car. As they were driving, Sanada remembered something.

"Can I ask you something, sir?"

"Yes, of course. What is it?"

"Can I get my jacket back? You know, when we get home…"

Keigo smiled innocently, and yet, not so innocently. In his most condescending tone, he said, "Sanada, you're _wearing_ your jacket right now."

The bodyguard's eyebrow twitched. "I _know _that. I was given two. I'm talking about the one I gave you last night."

Keigo blinked twice, still smiling. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sanada wanted to protest, but he couldn't find the words. For a minute, he even thought he was going crazy. He decided to let it go.

They had lunch at a nice little restaurant near the ice cream parlor they'd visited before. While Keigo was still looking at the menu, Sanada let his eyes wander a little about the room. He noticed a couple arguing, seemingly on a date. He saw a large group of people who were obviously celebrating something, and being very loud. Then his eyes fell on a young-looking man sitting alone, a few tables away. Sanada spent a few more seconds looking at this person. It just seemed odd that someone would wear sunglasses indoors… Perhaps he was blind. But then again, he couldn't have been, because he was reading the menu…

"Are you ready to order?" a waiter came and asked, interrupting Sanada's irrelevant train of thought.

The meal progressed rather normally. They talked about this and that, chatting casually as though nothing strange had ever passed between them. Sanada was fine with that, but it irritated Keigo, even though he knew it was mostly his fault. After all, if it weren't for his own nonchalant remarks, there probably wouldn't have been any conversation at all.

Still, he was aching to find that one missing piece he needed to understand Sanada. But since he had no clue what he was looking for, he didn't know what to ask or where to start. So the conversation remained frustratingly mundane.

When they left the restaurant and walked down the street, Keigo noticed that Sanada's replies to his comments were becoming shorter and shorter. It seemed like the bodyguard was distracted by something.

"Is something wrong, Sanada?"

"No, sir," Sanada replied simply.

Sanada actually was a bit uneasy. He got the feeling that someone was staring at the back of his neck, and he sensed that the same pedestrian had been walking behind them for several blocks. He didn't turn to look until Keigo stopped to gaze into one of the shop windows.

It was the man with the sunglasses.

Sanada made sure to look like he hadn't noticed. The man, talking on his cell phone a little too quietly, kept walking and made his way around them. Out of the corner of his eye, Sanada saw him turn into an alley that had a dead end.

The man was probably going to wait there until they passed by.

Keigo was looking up at Sanada. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"What's that, sir?" Sanada turned.

Keigo examined his bodyguard's face, cautiously. "You've got a strange look on your face… What's the matter?"

Sanada debated with himself, not sure if he should say anything. But then he remembered.

"_That day… Kippei seemed a little… uneasy… He never said anything… I think he just didn't want to worry me… _

"_I wish he'd told me."_

Sanada straightened. "Sir, I think we're being followed," he said in a low voice.

Keigo's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"I'm not sure, but—"

"We're going home."

Sanada could sense Keigo starting to panic. "Sir, I'm not sure that's necessary…"

Keigo grabbed Sanada's arm. "If I say we're going home, we're going home," he hissed. "Do as I say and don't you _dare _question me."

Sanada stood still, struck dumb by the fire in his young master's eyes.

"Now, where are they?" Keigo asked.

"It's one man. Don't look now, sir, but I think he's in that alley over there."

"Then we're going this way." Keigo pulled Sanada rather roughly in the direction away from the alley. They walked quickly, and when they got back to where the limousine was parked, Keigo made Sanada get in first.

Once the door was closed, Keigo put his face in his hands.

"Sir… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said without looking up. The rest of the drive was absolutely silent.

When they arrived back at the mansion, Sanada couldn't help himself, and he followed Keigo up to his room.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," he suggested, closing the door behind him.

Keigo turned and glared at him. "Don't even say that. Never, _never _keep something like that from me. I am _requiring _you to tell me if anything like this happens again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sanada agreed with a sigh.

"What? What in my request is so unreasonable that you felt the need to _sigh _at me?"

Sanada took a breath as silently as he could. "There's just no reason to panic, sir. I think you're making this a bigger deal than it was."

Keigo's breath caught in his throat a moment, stunned at Sanada's audacity.

"A _bigger_ deal than it was…" he repeated, slowly. "A _bigger _deal than the fact that they have it in for you, that today was probably supposed to be your _death date…_"

Sanada forced himself not to roll his eyes. "Sir…"

"Don't say anything," Keigo warned, his eyes growing dangerous. "I don't want to hear anything you may think you have to say. I know you think you're not afraid to die, and maybe you're not, but as far as I'm concerned, it makes absolutely no difference. One person has already been killed on my account, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that number doesn't increase. Such a needless sacrifice should never be made again, not by you or anyone else."

Sanada stood still, looking slightly to the side. He seemed very unaffected by his young master's words. Keigo couldn't stand it anymore. He walked forward and grabbed Sanada's face, forcing the bodyguard to look him in the eye.

"They want to _kill _you, Sanada! Doesn't that concern you, even slightly?"

Sanada said nothing. Keigo let go and stepped back a little, searching Sanada's eyes. "Don't you care?"

"No, sir."

Keigo continued searching, bewildered, finding nothing. His voice softened, but retained its frustration. "Have you ever cared about anything?"

At that, something passed over Sanada's face for a brief moment. Keigo saw it, and instantly he knew.

That was the missing piece.

"Yes… sir. I have." Sanada looked him straight in the eye. But Keigo noticed that his lips were not quite steady, though it was barely detectable.

"What was it?" Keigo whispered.

"I don't want to talk about it, sir."

There was silence for a moment. Keigo couldn't say anything.

He was almost afraid that he had _hurt _Sanada.

Sanada closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he looked very tense.

"May I please go… sir?"

"Yes," Keigo said automatically. Sanada was gone in less than two seconds.

Keigo sat on his bed, afraid, for the first time in his life, that he had said too much.

…

"Sanada…"

Sanada lay sleeping on his bed when he heard a familiar voice. He'd gone to his room after talking with Keigo, and, not sure what else to do, had decided to rest. He shifted a little, making himself more comfortable.

"Sanada…" the voice said again, sounding like a wind chime.

He opened his eyes, and brightness entered them. Sitting beside him was Yukimura, dressed in shining white.

"I'm dreaming," he said, breathing in the sweet-smelling air.

Yukimura nodded, smiling softly.

Among the folds of shining silver blankets, Sanada found Yukimura's hand and held it in his own. "I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

"You have, Sanada?" Yukimura rubbed his hand. His eyes sparkled like water.

"Yes…" Sanada sat up, feeling suddenly guilty at seeing Yukimura surprised. "I should probably think of you more often than I do, though…"

Yukimura shook his head, looking into Sanada's eyes. His face showed nothing but concern. "Not if it hurts."

"It does," Sanada whispered, causing a look of pain to appear on his companion's face. He brought his hand up to Yukimura's cheek, but he couldn't feel the softness of his skin. It was only a dream, after all. Trying not to let this bother him, he leaned in to kiss Yukimura. But Yukimura brought his fingers up to Sanada's lips.

"You can't," he whispered, looking ready to cry. "You'll wake up."

Sanada pulled back, feeling his eyes start to sting, his lips still aching for that kiss.

He clasped onto Yukimura's hand, wishing he could feel it. "I miss you."

"I know…" Yukimura touched his cheek. "I'm worried about you, Sanada."

Sanada said nothing, but held Yukimura's hand against his face and stared into his eyes. They were full of tears.

"You look so tired…" Yukimura continued, closing his eyes. "It feels like you've been in a lot of pain… Sanada, I don't want that for you." He opened his eyes again, and the tears came out.

Sanada wiped them away. "Don't cry, Yukimura. It's going to be okay… I'll be with you again soon. I promise."

"No," Yukimura said, shaking his head, still crying. "It's not your time yet, Sanada." He tried to smile, but his lips wouldn't hold still. "I really miss you, too… But I'm afraid we won't be together for quite a while…"

"Don't say that." Sanada's eyes narrowed as he started to fight his own tears. "I want to be with you again. I don't want to live another minute. There's nothing for me here…"

"Then find something, Sanada."

A single tear trickled down Sanada's cheek.

"What?"

Yukimura pressed himself up against Sanada's chest and whispered into his ear. "Find something to live for, Sanada. That's what I want for you."

Sanada clenched one fist, knowing that Yukimura loved him enough to say that but too much to make it true. "You're lying," he said through tears.

Yukimura began sobbing into his shoulder. Feeling horrible, Sanada held him, letting him cry. But Sanada couldn't feel him; he could only hear the painfully musical sound of Yukimura's weeping.

A minute later, Yukimura pulled away, tears still pouring down his face. "You have to wake up now, Sanada."

"Wait," Sanada said, suddenly afraid. He grasped onto Yukimura, hoping he could keep him from slipping away again. "Not yet. Please…"

"You have to…"

"Don't go, Yukimura…" Sanada pulled his angel closer to him. "Don't…"

Their faces were inches apart. Yukimura's lips were quivering with sorrow, and Sanada brought his own to meet them…

Just before they touched, everything went black.

Sanada opened his eyes. His room was dark, and he was sitting up on his bed, reaching out slightly.

"Yukimura," he whispered aloud.

He lowered his hand. Pain gripped his chest, and he felt himself shaking. It was so cold, suddenly…

Sanada gripped his head in one hand. Overwhelmed with grief, he started to cry. He wept for what seemed like forever.

"Sanada?"

He jolted and looked up. Keigo was standing beside his bed, looking extremely shocked.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you, Sanada…"

Sanada wiped away all his tears in one swipe. "How did you get in here?" he said, in an even tone of voice.

Keigo didn't meet his eyes. "I have a key… This used to be Tachibana's room…"

"Oh," was all Sanada said.

Keigo looked at him. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing," came the automatic reply.

Keigo sat down carefully in the chair beside the bed. "Well, it had to be _something _if it made _you_ cry."

At that, Sanada felt incredibly humiliated and ashamed. But nothing in his face showed it. "It was just a dream I had… that's all."

Keigo played a little with his hands. "Sanada… I'm really sorry… for what I said."

Sanada's voice softened. "You didn't know, sir."

"Didn't know what?"

"That there was something… I don't blame you for what you said."

"'Something,' Sanada?"

Sanada looked away and didn't reply.

Keigo leaned forward slightly. "Could you tell me?"

Sanada sighed. "It's a long story, sir."

"I have time."

Sanada gripped the blanket, supposing that there was no way out of this. So he fixed his eyes at a point on the wall and began his story, with Keigo listening intently.

"I had a friend who… got very sick, when he was sixteen. His name was Yukimura. He hadn't been feeling well for weeks, and then one night I called his house, and I was told he was in the hospital. So I went to see him and to find out what was going on. The doctors said he needed an operation, which they performed about a week later. I came back every day, asking when Yukimura would get to go home. The doctors said another week, and then they started saying that they didn't know. They had thought that the operation would fix the problem, but apparently, it didn't work.

"This went on for about two years. I visited every day, and every couple of months or so, Yukimura would have another operation. Every time, I was under the impression that each operation would be the last one, the one that would fix everything. It never was.

"The day before one of these operations, Yukimura and I were talking. He said he had been doing a lot of thinking, and he said…" Sanada paused for a moment, clutching the blanket tighter. "He said he loved me."

Keigo felt his heart beat a little faster as Sanada continued. "I didn't know what to say. I knew I cared about him a lot, but I'd never really thought about it that way. So I told him I was sorry, and I just sort of… left. I thought I could think about it and give him an answer later.

"The next day when I went to see him, his operation was supposed to be over, and he was supposed to be recovering. But he wasn't in his usual room, and I found out that they had moved him to critical care. The operation had failed, and he was suffering from complications. They weren't sure if he was going to live through the night."

Sanada took a deep breath. "That was the hardest night of my life."

Keigo was silent. Sanada kept going. "For fifteen hours, I sat in the waiting room. I was scared to leave, scared that he would die while I was gone. While I was sitting there, I realized that I couldn't live without him. I could only sit there and pray that I would get the chance to tell him that.

"When they finally let me see him, the first words out of my mouth were, 'I love you.' He was barely conscious at the time, and I found out later that he hadn't really heard me. But I told him plenty of times after that."

There was long silence. It felt like Sanada wanted to just leave it there.

Keigo wouldn't let him. "What happened after that?"

"After that?" Sanada sighed. "He kept having complications. He was in and out of critical care for a few months, until they got his condition stabilized. They kept him in the hospital while they discussed the possibility of another operation. But then, of course, they concluded that he would likely suffer complications if they did anything."

"So what did they do?" Keigo was on the edge of the chair.

"They sent him home. They took him off all of the medications, told him he had about a week to live, and released him from the hospital."

Keigo felt his mouth open slightly. Sanada's eyes grew a little more distant, and he lowered his voice. "I stayed with him for that time… I didn't go to work, nothing. Just… stayed with him. We didn't do much… He was always pretty tired. But it was nice that he got to be at home."

Sanada closed his eyes, looking just slightly more uncomfortable. "One night I… carried him to his bedroom, and he asked me to stay with him." Sanada had difficulty with the next sentence. "We made love that night."

Keigo was speechless. He felt like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. His eyes remained glued to the storyteller.

Sanada clenched his fists. "He told me that he didn't want to die until we'd done that… So… of course I said yes… But…"

Sanada rubbed his forehead.

"What?" Keigo breathed.

"He died the next morning."

There was a long, heavy silence.

Keigo felt a lump forming in his throat. He swallowed, trying to imagine how hard it must have been. He couldn't understand how Sanada could remain so detached, how he could tell his story in such a even tone of voice.

Keigo felt his heart breaking.

Sanada let out a breath, having made it through the hardest part. He got up out of bed and walked towards the picture on his dresser. Keigo watched in silence as he picked up the frame and ran his fingers tenderly over the glass.

"The last thing he said to me was, 'Don't worry.'" Sanada sighed. "It was almost like he didn't think he was going to die, right then. And it seemed like he just… fell asleep, in my arms. But then I could feel him getting cold."

Silently, Sanada walked over and handed the picture to Keigo, who took it carefully in both hands. As he looked, the story became more real.

Keigo brought the picture closer, staring into the eyes of the only person Sanada had ever loved.

Sanada felt something strange as he watched Keigo study the photograph. He would have thought that it would bother him, seeing Keigo so close to Yukimura's picture. But the reverent, grave expression on the seventeen-year-old's face comforted him, and something in him felt almost… warm.

Keigo gave the picture back to Sanada.

"Sanada… I'm so sorry."

Sanada looked at the picture for a moment, then set it back on the dresser. "Well… that was two years ago."

"Only two years?"

Sanada said nothing.

Keigo sat there uncomfortably. He felt very much like he had to do something, anything that might ease all this pain he'd brought to the surface. So he did something ridiculously impulsive.

He got up and wrapped his arms around Sanada.

Sanada was, needless to say, surprised at the sudden action. They stood there like that, silently, awkwardly, for a minute or so. Then Keigo stepped back, letting go.

"Well." He brushed himself off, trying to regain his dignity. "I'll leave you alone now." He walked briskly out the door.

Once Keigo was gone, Sanada found himself doing something very odd.

He was smiling.

It wasn't a big smile; in fact, it was barely a smile at all. But he felt as though the entire world had just been lifted off his shoulders.

He had faced his past, and now he was free from it.

He knew he would never forget Yukimura. He would still love him, still think of him almost every day. But he was no longer chained by his own, stubborn need to be with him again as soon as possible.

"_What if everything's going to be okay?"_

This must have been what Yukimura was talking about.

Sanada sat on the front edge of his bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

_Yukimura…_

_You won't have to worry about me anymore._

* * *

-end of chapter 7-

_Notes…_

Hope you all enjoyed the loads of SanaYuki. XD I do love them so. They have so much angst.

Fear Stalker!Momo. XD

About Sanada crying… yes. Slightly OOC, I know, but come on, Yukimura's dead. You'd cry too. I almost cried while I was writing this. XD But seriously, Sanada clearly hasn't been dealing with his emotions in a healthy manner. So of course he'd break down now that it's all coming back. That was my rationale, anyway…

In any case, we're done. No more OOC angst. Everyone cheer! XD Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Once again, huge thanks to my editor! She's not only great a correcting me, but also encouraging me. Thanks so much!

_Next chapter… Atobe Keigo is a man who knows what he wants. Will he get it? Or will he realize he doesn't want it, after all?_


	8. Over the Edge

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Sanada will cry again. XD

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **Enjoy this chapter. I'm sure you will. XD

* * *

When Sanada and Keigo had gone to bed that night, everything they felt was exactly opposite. Keigo's heart was heavy, and Sanada's was light.

The burden that Sanada had been carrying, the burden of Yukimura's death, was finally released. Ever since his boyfriend had died, he had refused to talk about it to anyone, forcing himself to bear his grief alone. And because it was too much for him, he couldn't face it, and he couldn't solve the problem. He'd just let the pain sit there, bottled up inside, slowly ruining him. But now he'd told someone. He'd gotten through the whole story, he'd faced it all. And now he could move on.

Keigo's heart was broken for Sanada. After hearing that tragic story, he couldn't help but be depressed for the rest of his evening. He couldn't believe that life had been so unfair to his bodyguard. He kept trying to think of something he could say or do to help, something that would make everything better. The image of Sanada weeping was burned in his memory, torturing him. He couldn't believe he had actually seen Sanada cry. And he was disgusted with himself for ever thinking that Sanada had no feelings.

For both of them, everything was completely different in the morning.

When Sanada woke up, he was horrified to realize that the entire night, he'd been dreaming about Keigo. Now that he had put his past behind him, his heart was looking towards the possible future, and the sparks of potential feelings he had for his young master were beginning to ignite.

He now realized just how much he longed to love and be loved again. Before, his longing had translated into emptiness and a desire to die. Now, it was just… _longing. _And he knew it would only lead to something terrible. Already, the thought of death frightened him a little again. If he gave into his desires, the end result would only be pain, for both him _and _Keigo. He made a promise to himself…

He was not going to let this happen.

Keigo, meanwhile, had also been dreaming about Sanada. Some of his dreams had been sad, but to his surprise, not all of them were. When he woke up, he had an epiphany that turned his cheeks a luminous pink.

He was in love with Sanada.

Before now, it had been merely the hint of attraction. He had been forcing himself to believe that Sanada was just a handsome face with absolutely nothing on the inside. But when he saw Sanada crying, weeping bitterly for the loss of someone he loved very dearly, Keigo realized that his bodyguard had a heart of gold. The fact that Sanada had hid everything until now no longer seemed cold and insensitive, but a manifestation of his inner strength. Certainly Sanada _wanted _to hide most of his feelings, and it would be a challenge for anyone to break through that hard outer shell. But it was a challenge that Keigo was up for.

All day, Keigo was smiling, daydreaming and thinking about everything that would happen if he succeeded. Now that he had decided to try, the attraction he'd been trying to supress was bursting into full bloom. He was in love.

He amused himself throughout the day with schemes and plans. Nothing in it was cruel; he really cared about Sanada. He just wanted the chance to be there for him and help him heal. Getting Sanada to see that Keigo would be good for him was the hard part—but it would be the fun part, too.

It wouldn't be too difficult… He already knew that Sanada wanted him; that much was obvious. For one thing, he had almost _kissed _him. For another, he'd dropped little hints of affection, like giving him his jacket, that Keigo had previously chosen to ignore.

Keigo was experiencing feelings he'd never had before. With Kippei, everything had been different. Kippei had been the one pursuing _him_, and he had just been along for the ride, since he was young and inexperienced. Now he was a man, and he was the one going after what he wanted.

And Atobe Keigo _always_ got what he wanted.

That evening, when Keigo got out of the shower, he was humming to himself a little, still thinking. As he was drying his hair, he caught a glimpse of himself in the foggy mirror. He stopped to look, draping his towel around his neck. It wasn't an uncommon thing for him to stare at his reflection; sometimes he would just gaze at himself for a while before finishing getting dressed.

He certainly had no reason not to.

He ran his fingers through his hair, flicking drops of water out into the steam around him. His hair looked rather nice when it was wet, he mused. It almost sparkled…

"Ootori," he called suddenly.

A moment later, his butler cracked the door open and peered through, blushing slightly at seeing Keigo in nothing but his boxers. "Yes, sir?"

"Could you bring me my swimming trunks?"

"You're going for a swim, sir?"

"Yes, I think so." Keigo smiled. "I was just thinking… and it seemed like a rather nice idea." He turned, looking Ootori in the eye meaningfully. "Why? Is that so odd?"

"Well… you _did _just take a shower, sir. Won't you have to take another one, to wash the chlorine out of your hair?"

"Probably. Your point?"

"Nothing, sir." Ootori shrugged and closed the door, knowing he had already pushed his luck with questions.

He returned with the shorts and gave them to his master. Before he made it out the door, Keigo stopped him. "One more thing, Ootori."

"What's that, sir?"

Keigo smiled, looking anything but innocent. "Go tell Sanada to meet me by the pool. I'd feel much more comfortable if he was out there with me. It is late, after all, and since we've been having so many break-ins lately…"

"I understand, sir," Ootori replied, swallowing. Then he left to go get Sanada, the whole way trying to figure out why he suddenly felt like an executioner.

He knocked on Sanada's door. "Sanada-san?"

"Coming," came the reply. Moments later, Sanada opened the door. "What is it?"

Ootori wasn't sure exactly how to explain. "Master Keigo… needs you."

Sanada looked confused at the butler's odd choice of words, causing Ootori to feel even more embarrassed. "Isn't a little late to be going out?" Sanada asked.

"Yes, well… He's not going out. He, uh… wanted to go for a swim. And he said he'd feel more comfortable if you were out there with him." Ootori took a deep breath once he had finished.

"A swim," Sanada repeated.

"That's right."

"And he wants me to watch."

"Yes."

There was a pause. Ootori blinked a few times. "What?"

Sanada shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind." He turned back inside without closing the door. "Could you hang on for a second? I'll need you to show me where the pool is."

"Alright, no problem."

Ootori waited while Sanada grabbed the rest of his equipment. Then they started down the hallway together.

On the way, Sanada asked abruptly, "What has Master Keigo been doing all day?"

"Not much of anything," Ootori replied. "But he seemed to be in a good mood."

Sanada relaxed inwardly. He had been a little worried that his story had really depressed Keigo, and of course he didn't know because he hadn't seen his young master all day.

They got to the pool a few minutes later. It was, predictably, gigantic, not to mention beautifully landscaped. But it was hard to see because everything was dark.

Ootori went over to one of the lounge chairs, where someone was sleeping. The butler shook this person slightly.

"Jiroh-san!"

"Mm?"

"Wake up. We need lights."

The redheaded young man pulled the towel off his face and lifted his head slightly. "Hey, Kabaji-kun… Turn on the lights, would you?"

"Usu," came a deep voice somewhere near the pump and filter. A second later, the pool was a luminescent blue. Jiroh put the towel back on his face.

Ootori sighed. "Jiroh-san, wake up. Master Keigo is coming for a swim."

"Master Keigo?" Jiroh sat up, looking suddenly excited. "Really? I haven't seen him for a while! How is he?"

"He's doing well," Ootori replied. "Jiroh-san, I want you to meet someone. This is Sanada-san, Master Keigo's new bodyguard."

Sanada held out his hand, trying not to look too disturbed. "Nice to meet you."

Jiroh bounced out of the lounge chair. "Nice to meet you, too!" He shook Sanada's hand vigorously. "You're Master Keigo's bodyguard, huh? That must be exciting!" He laughed. "I'm just the towel boy. It gets really dull around here sometimes. It's only fun when Master Keigo's out here. He's so nice! Sometimes he—"

"Well, he'll be out in a minute," Ootori interrupted as politely as he could, coming to Sanada's rescue. He then looked around a little. "I would introduce you to Kabaji-san, but I'm not sure where he went. Anyways, he cleans the pool and fixes it, along with a few other things around the house."

"So where is Master Keigo? When is he getting here?" Jiroh tugged on Ootori's sleeve.

Ootori smiled a little, awkwardly. "I'm sure he'll be out in just a minute, Jiroh-san…"

Just then, Keigo appeared at the door, wearing a white, terrycloth bathrobe with his initials embroidered on the pocket. Jiroh was at his side in one, hyperactive bound.

"Towel, sir?"

"Yes, thank you, Jiroh." Keigo took it, giving Jiroh a smile in return. Sanada couldn't understand why Jiroh was so excited.

"Is there anything you need from me before I go, sir?" Ootori asked.

"No, Ootori, you may go. I won't need you for the rest of the evening."

Ootori bowed, smiling. "Thank you, sir." He patted Sanada on the shoulder (which Sanada found very odd), and left.

Sanada turned to his young master, whose eyes were on him. The seventeen-year-old had a strange look on his face.

"Jiroh," Keigo said, still looking at Sanada. "Could you go get me something to drink?"

"Sure could! What do you want?"

Here, Keigo glanced at the towel boy. "How about… a pina colada. And make sure they make it the way I like it."

"Okay!" Jiroh was gone in a flash.

Keigo looked again at Sanada, still wearing that strange expression. It was sort of a smirk, but not really. It was a smile that was daring Sanada to do something, but he wasn't sure what it was.

After a few more moments, Keigo turned his back on Sanada and started talking, his hands fiddling with the knot on his belt. "So, Sanada. What have you been doing all day?"

"Reading, mostly," he answered, his eyes glued to Keigo's back. The seventeen-year-old was sliding the white robe off his shoulders and his body, slowly, gracefully.

"That's all?" he asked, turning his head a little, but not enough to actually see Sanada.

Sanada stood stiffly. "I was kind of expecting you to want to go out, at some point."

"I see." Keigo's eyes fell on his slender wrist. "Hm. I forgot to take off my watch…" He slipped it off, then held it out. "Could you put this in your pocket?"

Sanada offered his hand, expecting Keigo to drop it into his palm. Instead, Keigo pressed the watch into Sanada's hand, then let his fingers slide across the bodyguard's wrist, palm, and finally off his fingertips.

Trying to ignore the tingling feeling in his hand, Sanada pocketed the watch. Keigo was smirking again.

"Sorry," he whispered.

Keigo stepped towards Sanada so he could place his hand on the back of the lounge chair. Aware of how close he was, he bent over a little, supporting himself while he kicked off his sandals. Sanada had to step back a little so he wouldn't get bumped. As if completely unaware of him, Keigo walked away towards the deep end of the pool.

Sanada couldn't tear his eyes away.

Keigo sauntered casually up to the diving board. He leaned down to feel the water, with the blue light glowing on his face. The ripples from his hand created dancing lines of light that were reflected on his body and his surroundings. He stood up and stepped back onto the diving board, away from the dancing lights, flicking away sparkling crystals of light from his wet hand. The moonlight shone on his pale skin and shimmered in his hair. He paused for a moment, then took a run and dove into the pool, his slender form sliding into the water without so much as a splash. He appeared again a moment later, bursting through the surface and smoothing back his shining, silvery hair.

Sanada swallowed, remembering to breathe. The night air suddenly seemed uncomfortably warm.

Keigo swam for what seemed like a long time, all the while looking as at home as a dolphin in the water. He completed almost a hundred laps across the pool, his body moving back and forth, swaying more gracefully than a professional swimmer. When he lifted himself out of the water, he was drenched and breathless.

Jiroh had just returned with the drink. "Sorry it took forever, Master Keigo. They kept putting too much pineapple in it, and I know you hate that."

Keigo took it from him. "Thank you, Jiroh. You're done for the evening."

Jiroh blinked, glanced at Sanada, then looked at Keigo again. "Okay, sir. If you say so." And then he was gone.

Keigo took a sip of his drink. "I'm sorry, Sanada. I should have asked you if you wanted something to drink." He walked up to Sanada, coming a little too close.

"That's alright, sir."

"You can have some of this, if you want."

"I'm not that thirsty."

"Suit yourself." Keigo reached around Sanada, setting the drink on the table behind him.

Of course Sanada could see what Keigo was doing. He wasn't stupid. It was obvious that Keigo, in his not-so-subtle manner, was trying to turn him on. There was just one problem…

It was working.

Despite this fact, Sanada wasn't going to give in. He refused to show his arousal, refused to encourage it. He had promised himself, after all.

Keigo stared into Sanada's eyes. He noticed the fire in them, a flame of passion that he knew no one else would be able to see. He smiled. Sanada was very good at keeping his composure. He just stood there, unmoved, staring his young master straight in the eye, refusing to break down.

It drove Keigo crazy.

Keigo turned and walked away a little, feeling his face get hot. He grabbed his towel and wiped the water droplets off his face, which were now a mixture of pool water and perspiration.

"Sanada," he heard himself say.

"Yes?"

"Come here."

Sanada cautiously did as he was told.

"Closer," Keigo said, his back still facing his bodyguard.

Sanada did so, but asked, "What is it?"

Keigo turned and placed his hands against Sanada's chest. "Closer," he whispered again.

"Sir, you're getting my suit wet…"

"I have to tell you something."

Sanada couldn't move or breathe. Keigo's cheek was now against his, and he could feel Keigo's breath in his ear.

"What… sir?" he managed.

Keigo chuckled a little before answering, moving his hands over Sanada's shoulders.

"I love you," he whispered.

Sanada's eyes grew wide, and he opened his mouth to say something. But before he could speak, Keigo's mouth was against his. The seventeen-year-old's lips played around seductively, forcing Sanada's to move along. Soon, Sanada's lips were moving on their own, remembering. He could feel Keigo's arms wrapping themselves around his neck, and his own hands made their way onto Keigo's back. His palms moved up and down, feeling his young master's soft, wet skin…

Sanada pushed away suddenly, horrified.

"Master Keigo… we can't do this," he said breathlessly, wiping his lips.

Keigo glared at him, irritated at the interruption. "We're doing it already, Sanada."

Sanada stumbled backwards a step, trying to avoid those cool blue eyes. He was completely unable to argue.

"Sir, I think I should go," he said finally.

Keigo supposed there was no help for it. "Just one thing before you go," he said slowly, walking forward.

Sanada walked backwards nervously as Keigo came closer and closer. "What's that, sir?"

They both stopped, and Keigo thrust his hand into the pocket of Sanada's pants, fishing around a little before pulling back out with the desired object in hand.

"My watch."

Keigo smirked a little. He'd just felt something that proved his suspicions about what Sanada was thinking.

Sanada narrowed his eyes, forcing them to remain steady. "Can I go _now_?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Keigo's smile did not disappear, but twisted into something ironic and frustrated. It annoyed him that Sanada was so eager to leave. Especially when they both were so obviously unsatisfied.

Luckily, Keigo had Sanada right where he wanted him.

"Now, Sanada…" He stepped forward again. Sanada stepped back. "Do you really think you can go back to your room like this?"

"Like what, sir?"

"So… obviously…" Keigo searched for a word. His lowered his gaze, indicating with his eyes a spot just below Sanada's belt. "Aroused," he finished, looking back up.

"What's your point, sir?" Sanada demanded, frustrated.

Keigo took another step. Sanada did the same. Then he realized, much to his dismay, that he hadn't been paying attention and had backed right up to the water's edge.

Keigo smirked sadistically, watching Sanada put the pieces together.

"Sanada, I think you need to cool off."

With one smooth push from Keigo, Sanada fell backwards into the pool, causing a deluge of water to spray onto the deck.

By the time Sanada made it back to the edge of the pool, Keigo was already gone. He folded his arms onto the deck and buried his head into his soaked sleeves.

_Damn that Keigo._

"Sanada-san?"

He looked up. Jiroh was kneeling there, holding a towel.

"Master Keigo came and got me. He said you'd need this."

Sanada noticed that familiar twitch in his eyebrow manifesting itself, yet again. He pulled himself up out of the pool, feeling pounds of water pour out of his clothes as he did so.

Jiroh laughed. "I can't believe you fell into the pool! You didn't strike me as that clumsy."

"Yes," Sanada growled, taking the towel. "Clumsy me." He started wiping himself off, but quickly realized that one measely towel wasn't going to do much for him. So he dried his hair, then threw the towel back at Jiroh. He grabbed the edges of his clothes and attempted to wring them out.

"Thank you," he muttered meaningfully. Jiroh took the hint and left him alone. He sighed and sat on one of the chairs, resolving to stay outside at least until he stopped dripping.

He could be here a while.

His eyes fell onto Keigo's forgotten pina colada. Figuring that his night had been hard enough, he got up and grabbed it. He sat in the chair again and chugged about a fourth of it down.

Keigo had been right about one thing: the impromtu little swim _had_ cooled him off. A little too much, in fact. He shivered for a moment in the light evening breeze, then sighed.

That actually wasn't the only thing Keigo had been right about.

"_We're doing it already, Sanada."_

When Sanada examined himself, he realized that he wanted this just as much as Keigo did. It surprised him how much he enjoyed kissing him just now, and if he was honest, he knew that he'd really wanted to beforehand. For a long time, he'd been secretly longing for it, and now he'd finally satisfied himself.

It made him uneasy to realize how unsatisfying that satisfaction was.

Stopping Keigo from doing whatever it was he was doing was no longer Sanada's only problem. He also had to stop _himself. _And that alone would be like trying to stop a freight train.

Sanada stood up and checked his clothes. Sure enough, they weren't dripping anymore. But they were still very obviously damp, and he looked like a total wreck. Choosing to ignore it, he went inside.

He trudged through the halls, very aware of anyone who happened to see him, his shoes full of water and squeaking with every step. He passed one of the many guest rooms, and heard a pair of maids giggling at him. As he went by the front hall, he noticed Saeki giving him a strange look. And when he was almost back at his room, he ran into Shishido in the hallway.

"Whoa, Sanada-san." The kitchen boy looked him over. "What happened to _you_?"

Sanada took a deep breath. "I… fell. Into the pool." He pushed past and went to his room.

Sanada changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, hanging his uniform up to dry. It was conveniently made of a material that wouldn't shrink, and would be just fine as soon as it dried. His katana was speckled with water, but it was nothing that a little polish wouldn't take care of. His gun needed some fixing, if not a replacement. Luckily, he hadn't brought anything else with him.

Some minutes later, he heard a knock at his door. When he opened it, Ootori was standing there with a mug of coffee.

"I thought you might like something warm," Ootori said, holding out the mug. "Shishido-san told me you were all wet."

Sanada gratefully took the coffee. "Thanks," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Come in."

They sat side by side on the front edge of the bed. After a moment's thought, Ootori spoke.

"You didn't _really_ fall into the pool, did you, Sanada-san?"

"What do you mean? Of course I did."

"Sanada-san, you're not that clumsy."

Sanada took another sip, then looked into Ootori's patient, honest eyes.

"What really happened?" the butler asked.

Sanada sighed. "Master Keigo pushed me."

Ootori nodded. "You made him mad?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

Sanada wasn't sure how to answer. He stared into the blackness of his drink.

Ootori thought he'd guess, based on what he'd seen before he'd left the pool. "Master Keigo… started flirting with you… and you weren't giving him a good reaction. Am I right?"

Sanada was impressed. "Very close. I actually _did _give him a reaction… but then I stopped myself. Which was even worse, I suppose."

Ootori chuckled softly. "Yes, I guess that would be worse, to him."

There was a knock at the door. "Choutarou? Are you in here?"

"Shishido-san! Just a minute…" Ootori turned to Sanada. "Can he come in, or should I go?"

"He can come in."

Ootori got up and opened the door.

"How's the drowning victim holding up?" Shishido said, lightening the mood.

"Fine," Sanada replied. "The coffee helps."

Ootori laughed. "Guess what, Shishido-san? Sanada-san didn't fall in the pool, after all. Master Keigo pushed him in."

"So that explains it." Shishido stuck his hands in his pockets. "I thought it seemed weird." He sat down on Sanada's right side. "Made him mad, did you, Sanada-san?"

"Yeah… I guess."

Ootori sat to Sanada's left, and leaned forward to look at Shishido. "He wasn't being… _receptive._"

"Oh… I see." Shishido smiled, understanding. He looked back at Sanada. "Don't like him like _that_, huh?"

Sanada felt embarrassed and more than a little cornered. "Well…"

"He does, but he's afraid of what will happen," Ootori explained, only trying to help.

"Ah. Makes sense. You're afraid it will be like Tachibana-san all over again."

Sanada relaxed a little. "Yeah."

"Well, you know what I say to that?"

"Um… what?"

Shishido put his hand on Sanada's shoulder. "Screw it! Seize the day!"

Sanada winced. Then he felt Ootori's hand on his other shoulder.

The butler was laughing lightly. "I think what Shishido-san is trying to say is, your feelings are more than reasonable, but is it really worth it to hold back for fear of what might happen?"

Sanada looked again at his coffee, thinking.

"You really care about him, don't you, Sanada-san?"

"And you really want him, don't you?"

Sanada swallowed. "Yes…"

"Then you should tell him that!"

"Show him, too!"

Ootori smiled. "After all, it's better to have loved and lost…"

"Than to have never loved at all," Shishido finished. "So what if something bad happens? Won't it be worth it, for the time you _will _have together?"

Sanada's eyes fell on Yukimura's picture.

Ootori continued Shishido's thought. "Besides, don't you think that it would hurt him a lot worse to realize that you did care, and didn't do anything about it?"

"I guess…"

Shishido stood up, patting Sanada on the back. "Well, think about it that way, at least."

Ootori stood up too. "We'll leave you alone now, Sanada-san."

Sanada watched in silence as the pair walked out the door.

Maybe they were right.

…

Meanwhile, Keigo was in his room, lying on his bed, thinking about everything that had just happened. Remembering, he touched a single finger to his lips.

Sanada was a good kisser.

He chuckled a little, then sighed. Maybe he had gone too far. If his his flirting hadn't been too much, if the confession or the kiss hadn't been too much, certainly pushing Sanada into the pool had. Perhaps he should go apologize. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, he thought with another sigh.

As he made his way through the dim hallways of the house, he tried to figure out why Sanada was being so difficult. It was obvious that he wanted the relationship. And Keigo could see that he no longer felt tied down by the memory of his lost love; at least, that wasn't the problem right now.

So what was it?

Keigo took a deep breath before knocking on Sanada's door.

"Who is it?"

"Just me," Keigo answered.

Sanada opened the door. It was awkward for a minute.

"Yes, sir?"

"May I come in?"

"Yes." Sanada stepped aside. They sat down on his bed.

Keigo nonchalantly ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry I pushed you into the pool. That was perhaps… overdoing it, on my part."

Sanada sighed. "Don't worry about it, sir. My clothes will dry off… eventually…"

Keigo shifted a little, so he could look very directly at his bodyguard. "Sanada, there's something I need to know."

Sanada met his eyes. "What's that, sir?"

"What are you so afraid of?"

"What do you mean?"

Keigo sighed. "You want me. And, frankly, I want you. So why are you so set on holding back?"

Sanada nodded. Now was not the time to beat around the bush. "I just don't think we should rush into it, so soon…"

Keigo looked over at the photograph on the dresser. "You're still not over him," he assumed.

"It's not that, sir. I'm worried about _you_."

Keigo looked into Sanada's eyes. They were steady and serious.

"Me?"

"I don't think you want to go through a repeat of what happened."

Keigo looked down. "Oh." He hadn't thought of that. He'd forgotten this morning, distracted by the sudden excitement of his feelings. And he'd acted on those feelings without thinking much about it.

Sanada continued. "I think it would be better—for _both _of us—if we just forgot this ever happened."

Keigo sighed sadly. He couldn't decide what he wanted, if he was more afraid of being hurt or of being alone.

"Agreed." He stood up with forced resolve. "We'll forget that tonight ever happened. At least, until I've thought through it more carefully."

"Fair enough."

Keigo left the room with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something inside him was hurting, or longing, or both, or nothing. He found his mind going again to Kippei, and he felt not only lonely but also ashamed.

He didn't want to go through that pain again.

He set his alarm clock, then laid his head on his pillow, thinking.

_Sanada's right._

_I'll just forget about it._

Keigo closed his eyes, drifting into a quiet sleep. He had resolved to forget, but his dreams stole scenes from his memory, making it impossible. Completely unaware, he fell deeper and deeper every minute that he slept.

…

"They must be sleeping right now."

Momoshiro looked out his tiny window onto the street below, observing a flickering streetlamp across the road. He knew Echizen wasn't really listening, instead focused on polishing one of his many firearms by the light of a dim floor lamp.

"Who, Momo-senpai?" the fifteen-year-old asked, a moment later.

"That Atobe kid and his bodyguard."

There was a long silence. Momoshiro laughed omniously, thinking.

"They have no idea what's coming."

Echizen stopped what he was doing. Momoshiro continued. "Wouldn't that be weird? Going to bed, feeling completely safe and sound, not realizing that someone, somewhere is talking about you, planning to kill you the next day."

"Well, they're stupid if they still feel safe at this point," Echizen remarked. He smirked a little, remembering his initial excitement when they'd gotten the order. Tezuka had called the two of them into his office, and, after hearing the report, had cracked open the venetian blinds, peering through them. That's when he'd told them it was time.

"Do it," he had said.

Momoshiro noticed the smug grin on his partner's face. "You better not miss, Echizen."

Echizen lifted his weapon in both arms, cocking it.

"I never miss."

Smiling back, Momoshiro looked again out the window. The streetlamp flickered a little while longer, then died.

* * *

-end of chapter 8-

Hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it! XD

_Notes…_

I LOVED doing this first scene. I think it's the best piece of work I've ever done. Which isn't saying a lot, but as far as I'm pleased with my writing, I'm pleased with how this came out. Huge, HUGE thanks to my editor for this one; I wrote it without dunking Sanada into the pool, but then I told her that I'd had that idea, and she told me to go for. She said, "Make it work." She's so my Tim Gunn. XD (excuse the Project Runway inside joke) In any case, without her, Sanada would not be soaking wet, and the scene wouldn't be half as good.

Okay… I don't know how this keeps happening… but the Silver Pair shoves their way into EVERYTHING. I'm not kidding you; they weren't even supposed to be in this scene. Sanada was originally just going back to his room alone. And then, two chapters ago, I hadn't really planned to have them there either, and they shoved their way into that… And I'm all, DARNIT THIS IS A TANGO PAIR FIC GET OUT. Lol. No, we luv them.

For the last scene… Everytime I write about streetlamps I think about T.S. Eliot, and Cats. XD


	9. Giving In

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Keigo will push you into the pool. XD

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **Enjoy…

* * *

Keigo sat up in bed, startled by the sound of the security alarm.

The air in his bedroom was just slightly warm. He kicked off his covers and, shaking a little, tied back all the curtains on his bed. It felt like there was something heavy hanging in the darkness around him.

His first thought, for reasons he couldn't explain, was, _This is it._

He waited impatiently for Sanada to come through the door, which happened a few seconds later. The bodyguard didn't say anything, but calmly walked over and stood by the bed.

More than anything, Keigo wanted to say something, but he couldn't find any words. He knew he was supposed to be pretending that nothing had happened earlier that evening, but at the sight of Sanada, the events swam around in his head, refusing to leave. The unspoken words felt like heavy humidity suspended around them.

Keigo looked up at the back of Sanada's neck. He couldn't help noticing the strength in Sanada's stature, his broad shoulders, his strong arms. Everything in his features, his whole body, was perfect. This was clear, even despite the fact that Sanada was wearing two layers of clothes. Keigo wanted so badly to see the perfection that was undoubtly hiding underneath. The only skin that Keigo could see was the small part of Sanada's tan neck that was showing just above the collar, as if teasing him…

"Sanada, look at me."

Sanada's eyes remained fixed on the door.

Keigo couldn't stand it for one more second. He stood up.

"Sanada, I know we're supposed to be pretending nothing happened, but could you, at the very least, look at me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," Sanada replied in a voice that made Keigo want to melt.

It was the last straw. Keigo walked around so he could look his bodyguard in the face. He grabbed onto the collar of Sanada's suit.

"Your suit's dry," he observed.

"Yes." Sanada's eyes remained fixed somewhere above Keigo's head.

Keigo wrinkled the collar in his fists. How was Sanada so good at pretending? It drove him almost literally insane, the way Sanada just stood there…

But it was so obvious. "Stop pretending, Sanada," he hissed into Sanada's ear. "The only reason you're acting like this is because you're afraid. You know that if you so much as look me in the eye, you'd lose control."

"I would not," Sanada retorted, still not glancing at his young master.

"Oh, yes you would…" Keigo smirked. He touched Sanada's cheek. "Let's see how long it takes you…"

Keigo ran his hands up and down the front of Sanada's suit jacket, feeling the tense, rock-hard muscles underneath. His arms slithered around to Sanada's back, and he pulled himself so close that there was no space between them, from their chests down to their knees.

Sanada still said nothing, but stood as motionless at a British soldier.

Keigo wanted to scream. He laid his head against Sanada's shoulder, then continued to let his hands drop lower and lower down Sanada's back, until he felt the bodyguard start to twitch. He started kissing Sanada's neck… then his chin… then his lips…

Sanada was slowly breaking.

Keigo forced Sanada's mouth open, then let his tongue explore. He hadn't realized that he'd become so addicted after just one taste of Sanada's lips. He was intoxicated by the very feeling. He moved his hips a little, knowing his bodyguard wouldn't be able to resist…

Suddenly, as fast as he could draw his sword, Sanada grabbed onto Keigo. The seventeen-year-old felt himself being overpowered by those muscles, those strong arms, those forceful lips…

And he was enjoying every minute of it.

A second later, Keigo felt himself being lifted off his feet and taken to his bed, in the space of less than a second. Sanada got up on top of him, unbuttoning his collar a little, kissing his neck. The bodyguard pulled him even closer. Keigo tried to call out, but he was so out of breath that his voice sounded more like a whisper in his own ears.

"Sanada…"

Keigo couldn't even tell where he was being kissed or touched; his whole body was alive with feeling. He didn't even notice his clothes disappearing, but soon, he realized he could feel Sanada's perfect skin against his own. They were kissing, panting, sweating… All the while, Keigo could hear the scream of the alarm in the background…

The alarm.

Keigo woke up suddenly, drenched in sweat.

It took him a minute to realize where he was. With trembling hands, he switched off his alarm clock. Then, he sat in silence for a long time, wiping his forehead, trying to breathe normally.

Had he been having dreams like that all night?

He tried to calm down. It was scaring him, the way he was obsessing like this. To be having dreams like that after just one kiss, when he was trying so hard not to think about it…

He tried desperately to relax, but his breath kept coming out shaky and uneven.

He wouldn't have minded so much, except… he really didn't want this. Sanada was right; falling this deep was a bad idea. He'd just be setting himself up for more pain.

It wasn't worth it.

Keigo thought about it a little, and decided that he had nothing to worry about. Nothing like his dream was going to happen today. Even if he broke down like that, which was unlikely, he knew he could still count on Sanada to keep his cool. But it wouldn't have to come to that.

And as long as they didn't do anything, there was no problem, right?

"Good morning, Master Keigo!" Ootori suddenly appeared beside his bed. "Did you sleep well?"

Keigo loosened the wet hairs that were sticking to his forehead. "Yes… fine. How about you?"

"Very well, thank you, sir." Ootori's smile outshone the sunshine that was pouring through the windows. "What can I do for you this morning?"

Keigo thought about it. Should he go out, or not? After a moment's thought, he supposed that his determination to keep his cool meant nothing if he didn't test it. He glanced at the clock. It said 9:04.

He slid out of bed. "Well, I'm going to take a shower. But after that, I'd like to go out, maybe have an early lunch."

"Alright, sir. I'll go tell Sanada."

At the sound of that name, Keigo determined that his shower would have to be colder than normal. He wiped his forehead again.

"There's, uh… one more thing, Ootori."

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell the maids to wash my sheets today." He left before his butler could ask for an explanation.

He took a long, cold shower, and felt a lot better. But the relief only lasted until he went outside and saw Sanada standing there. He had assumed that his dreams had been wrong, that his mind had idealized Sanada, and he wouldn't look as good when he saw him again, awake. But no… there he was, looking exactly like he did in Keigo's dreams.

Keigo sighed, feeling something like disappointment. It was a shame, really, that he had to give up on Sanada. But it just wasn't worth it…

"Good morning, sir," Sanada greeted formally.

"Good morning," Keigo returned, trying to sound just as cold.

Once in the car, neither of them looked at each other or said anything for the entire drive. They went window shopping on a street by the coast, all the while saying hardly two words to each other. Keigo took a deep breath as he leaned over to look at some watches in a window display.

So far so good.

He happened to look up at his reflection in the glass. He stared for a minute, and, of course, he ended up noticing Sanada's reflection as well.

Then he noticed _their _reflection.

He stood a bit straighter, still looking. There was something that he liked, seeing himself standing so close to Sanada, something that was pleasing to his eyes. They were both so different, and yet… they looked so good together. Again, Keigo felt a little disappointed.

He looked at his watch, then turned to Sanada.

"How does lunch sound to you, right now?"

"I can eat anytime, sir. Whatever you like."

"Alright then. Let's go."

Keigo chose a nice restaurant nearby, and asked for a table by the window with an ocean view. They sat, once again, in silence. It was harder for Keigo to endure, this time, because he was basically forced to look at Sanada.

What _was _it about Sanada that was so attractive?

Keigo should have stopped thinking as soon as his mind asked that question. It was just asking for trouble. But he couldn't help himself, and he pondered it for a while. There was something about Sanada that was just… gorgeous. But Keigo couldn't quite place his finger on it. He shifted a little in his chair, crossing his legs, resting his chin in his hands. Perhaps Sanada's beauty was in the subtlety of it. Not to mention the absolute absence of flaws… Keigo's face began feeling a little warmer as he gazed at Sanada, noticing his jet-black hair, his warm skintone, those perfect features, those two dark eyes that were now staring back…

"What are you doing?" Sanada demanded quietly.

Keigo blinked. "What?"

"Your foot."

Keigo thought about it, then felt his face get even warmer. He hadn't realized it, but the top of his foot had started rubbing against Sanada's leg.

He was too embarrassed to admit his own mistake. So he forced a smile. "What? Was it _bothering _you, Sanada?"

Sanada glared at him. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You know what. Just stop."

Keigo's smile disappeared. He uncrossed his legs, placing his feet as far away from Sanada's as possible. "Oh, so now you're telling me what to do?"

Sanada's eyes returned to his menu. "Yes."

"I could fire you for that, you know."

"I'm not really worried."

Keigo's mouth opened slightly. How _dare _he speak to him like that? He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything sufficiently harsh. So he closed his mouth indignantly and looked out the window.

Why did he feel disappointed again?

He sighed, feeling suddenly conflicted. On the one hand, he knew he'd made the only logical decision. On the other, he knew what he wanted. He had to keep reminding himself: it wasn't worth it. It wasn't…

…was it?

For the next half-hour while they were eating, Keigo debated with himself. He weighed his options, worked out scenarios in his head, thought a lot, felt a lot. But it was hard to come to any conclusions. Mostly he just noticed that it seemed uncomfortably warm in the restaurant.

He sighed and looked out towards the ocean. He forced himself to think of Kippei, with the intention of explaining to himself why it wasn't worth it. He thought of the time they had together… The love, the passion, the warmth. The way everything had felt, the way every day had been beautiful…

Then he thought of the pain he'd felt when Kippei had died.

Keigo felt a strange feeling possess him, and he suddenly realized something.

He had made his decision.

He didn't have much of an appetite, so he had finished eating and was sitting there for a long time, just watching Sanada.

"Are you done?" he asked suddenly.

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "Yes…"

"Good." Keigo turned in his chair. "Check please!"

When they got outside, Sanada gave his young master very strange looks. "What was that all about?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. Let's go back to the car."

Once they found the limo, Keigo practically pushed Sanada inside before getting in himself. The car started moving, and he pressed the button that rolled up the sound-proof partition between the driver and the passenger area.

Sanada couldn't read the expression on Keigo's face. "Is something wrong, sir?"

Keigo smirked a little. "Not exactly."

The seventeen-year-old got out of his seat and knelt halfway on Sanada's, right on top of him. Then he took Sanada's face in his hands and looked him straight in the eye.

"I've decided that you're too good to pass up."

With that, Sanada felt his mouth being forced once again against Keigo's. He wanted to stop Keigo so he could ask, so they could discuss this calmly and rationally, but he found himself playing along. His lips were moving, begging for more… his hands were going goodness knows where… He tried to tell himself to stop. He didn't want this… What if…?

"_So what if something bad happens? Won't it be worth it, for the time you **will** have together?"_

Suddenly, Keigo felt himself being shoved up against the side of the car. Sanada was holding him there, looking down at him.

"Same to you," he said, then kissed his young master some more.

Keigo practically felt himself melting into the leather seat. Feeling Sanada on top of him, so agressively staking his claim… Somehow, Keigo had known it would be like this.

"Really, Sanada…" he said as soon as his mouth was free, and Sanada was kissing his neck. "You're such a beast."

Sanada didn't respond, instead stopping Keigo's mouth with another long kiss. Somehow, they ended up on the floor, but they didn't even pause for a moment. They just kissed… and kissed… and kissed… And in their minds, they had to agree…

This was worth it.

It was worth the fear of what might happen, even worth the guarantee of pain. They both knew what it was like to love someone, then see that person die. They knew how good it felt to be in love, and they also knew how much it might hurt. But, looking back, they both realized something. If they could do it all over again, they wouldn't have changed a thing. And that's just what they were doing.

Meanwhile, up front, Kajimoto was debating with himself. He was all too familiar with this situation. He had been told to drive home, but he knew that Master Keigo didn't _really _want to go home; at least, he didn't want to get there too soon. So he knew he should confirm, but he wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt.

Finally, with a sigh, he pressed the button that would send his voice back to Keigo through a little speaker.

"Master Keigo, we'll be home in about five minutes."

"What? No. Keep driving."

"How far should I drive, sir?" he asked, trying to ignore the strange sounds he heard coming over the intercom.

"Mm… Oh, drive until I tell you to stop."

"Yes, sir." Kajimoto sighed and pressed the button again. Then he turned on the radio.

_Sounds like we're taking a road trip._

A long time later, Keigo on Sanada were still making out on the floor of the limousine. Keigo reached up and started undoing Sanada's tie. Sanada abruptly pulled away, sitting up.

"Sir, can we at least wait until we get back to the house?"

They were both panting. Keigo smiled. "Sanada, you're such a spoilsport," he said, kissing Sanada's cheek. "But I suppose that can wait."

Sanada leaned back against the seat behind him. Keigo crawled over to join him, leaning on Sanada's shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

"I don't know about you, Sanada," Keigo began, wiping his lips. "But I don't want to go home just yet."

"Yeah…" was all the bodyguard said in reply.

He put one arm around Keigo, which the seventeen-year-old settled into. Keigo smiled happily. "How about you and I go on our first date together?"

Sanada actually laughed at that. "Whatever you want, sir."

"We could see a movie, have dinner, go for a walk on the beach…" He trailed off, and a thought occurred to him. "If we're even by the beach… Where are we, anyway?"

Keigo got up onto his knees and looked out of one of the windows. He wasn't sure he recognized anything, so he pushed the intercom button. "Kajimoto, where are we?"

"About five miles north of your house, going back towards it."

Keigo sat back down next to Sanada. "Could you find a nice, big park around here somewhere? I'd like to go for a walk."

"Will do, sir."

Keigo pressed the button again, then leaned back and kissed Sanada.

"I love you," he whispered.

Sanada thought carefully a minute before responding, stroking Keigo's hair.

"I love you, too," he whispered back.

After a moment of sweet silence, Sanada looked at his watch.

"You're kidding," he muttered.

"What?"

"It's almost three."

Keigo just laughed softly, leaning on his bodyguard's shoulder again.

The car stopped. Keigo helped Sanada tie his tie, and Sanada smoothed down Keigo's hair before they got out. Then they just took a walk.

It was the perfect day; the sky was blue and clear, marked with a few, puffy clouds. It was warm, but there was a gentle breeze. Since it was such a nice day, Keigo insisted they get ice cream, but other than that, they just talked. They walked and talked for hours. Neither of them had been this happy for a long time; everything was exactly how they wanted it. For Sanada, it was everything he'd wished he could have done with Yukimura. For Keigo, it was everything he remembered with Kippei.

Everything was perfect.

As the sun was going down, Keigo reached for Sanada's hand.

"What is it, sir?" Sanada asked, hesitantly squeezing his young master's hand.

Keigo's eyes glowed. "Kiss me."

Sanada hesitated. He'd never kissed in public before.

Keigo could tell what he was thinking, and he chuckled a little, holding Sanada's other hand as well. "Don't worry, no one's around…"

Sanada looked around, then got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They were absolutely alone.

Sanada felt his heart beat a little faster.

"Come on, Sanada." Keigo brought his focus back. "Kiss me."

Sanada looked into Keigo's blue eyes, finding himself unable to refuse. They kissed.

Sanada felt a sudden chill. He opened his eyes a little, and immediately sensed movement somewhere to his left. He pulled away to look.

"Sanada?" Keigo didn't understand why they'd stopped. "What's wrong?"

"It's… nothing…" Sanada answered, narrowing his eyes. He could've sworn…

"What?"

"It's just…" Sanada's eyes remained on a tree that stood about forty yards away.

_Stop it, Sanada, _a voice inside him said. _You're being paranoid…_

Keigo was really worried. "Sanada… what is it?"

Sanada's heart was pounding. "Remember when we were being followed?"

"Yes…"

"I could have sworn I saw the same guy, just now."

Keigo didn't respond. He wasn't sure what to say… When he looked around, he didn't see anyone.

Sanada grabbed Keigo's arm. "Let's get out of here." They started walking as fast as they could.

Momoshiro peered around the tree he was hiding behind.

_Damn!_

"Echizen, they're getting away," he hissed into his cell phone. "You've got one shot!"

Sanada's eyes were on the car, which was fifty feet away. Suddenly, it seemed so far… By now, he was running.

He'd never felt fear like this before in his life.

Keigo still didn't see why Sanada was running. There was still no one around, and they were almost there…

Just then, they both heard a familiar bang.

"Get in!" Keigo heard Sanada yell. They had to run about ten more feet, and then Sanada shoved Keigo into the car, ducking inside himself.

Keigo breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed and the vehicle started moving. The car was bullet-proof; they were safe.

Just as he was about to say so, Sanada collapsed onto his shoulder.

"Sanada?"

"Master Keigo…" Sanada was clenching his teeth. Keigo watched in horror as the bodyguard lifted his hand to look at it.

It was red.

"Sanada!" Keigo cried out, wrapping his arms around him, trying to hold him up. "Oh, god, no…"

"K… Keigo…" Sanada struggled.

"Master Keigo, what happened?" Kajimoto asked from the front, driving.

"Sanada was hit! Drive home!"

Kajimoto immediately stepped harder on the gas, steering with shaking hands.

Thinking fast, Keigo took off Sanada's earpiece, holding it up to his own ear and pressing the button.

"Yes, Sanada?" came Oshitari's voice.

"Oshitari, it's me," Keigo answered. "Sanada's been shot. Call an ambulance; we're coming home."

"Right away, sir."

Sanada was still trying to say something. "Master Keigo…"

Keigo dropped the earpiece onto the floor, attending again to his bodyguard. "Don't talk. You'll strain yourself…"

Sanada grasped onto Keigo's arm. "Master Keigo… I'm sorry…"

Keigo felt tears coming into his eyes. "Sanada… Don't say that!"

Sanada looked up at Keigo. It hurt to breathe. Everything was getting blurry…

Keigo was shaking him a little. "Sanada! Stay with me!"

Sanada saw a single tear roll down Keigo's cheek, and everything went black.

* * *

-end of chapter 9-

Hope you liked! Find out what happens to Sanada in the next chapter…


	10. Replaced

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Echizen will shoot you.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **Sorry to keep you all in suspense! Enjoy. XD

* * *

"Get up, Momo-senpai."

Echizen stood over his partner, who was sitting on the curb of a forgotten street corner with his head in his hands. Momoshiro didn't respond to Echizen's command. He was afraid of going back, afraid to face the wrath of his employer.

Echizen kicked him a little. "Get up!"

"Tezuka's going to kill us."

Echizen shifted his large weapon on his shoulder. "We have to go back, Momo-senpai."

Momoshiro took a deep breath and looked out into the fog. "Not necessarily…"

"Don't be such a coward," The fifteen-year-old glared menacingly. "I am _not _going to live on the streets again, and neither are you. We're going back." He turned away and started walking.

Momoshiro watched him walk a few feet, debating for a moment. Then, with a deep breath, he stood up and caught up to his young partner. They walked to their headquarters in darkness and absolute silence.

They slipped in as quietly as they could, and started creeping towards their room with hardly a sound. But it wasn't long until they heard Tezuka's voice drifting into the hall from his office.

"Momoshiro. Echizen. I need to speak with you."

The two young assassins looked at each other, swallowing. Echizen followed Momoshiro to the office.

When they entered, they couldn't see Tezuka; his chair was turned towards the window. Everyone else was there, lined up on both sides of the room.

"Yes… sir?" Momoshiro began, nervously.

"Come closer to my desk." The boss's voice was dangerously quiet.

The pair did as they were told. Tezuka slowly turned his chair around.

"It's very late," he observed.

"Yes, sir."

Tezuka stood up and slammed his hands onto the desk. "How _dare _you come back here empty-handed?"

Both Momoshiro and Echizen jumped. A gun was soon pointed at their faces.

"Which one of you wants to die first?"

Everyone else in the room was shocked, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation.

Oishi stepped forward. "Tezuka, is this really necessary?"

"I don't tolerate failure," Tezuka answered, unwavering. "And these two have failed me twice."

No one said anything.

Tezuka continued, "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. The entire operation was resting in _your _hands. And because you screwed it up the first time, security has gotten even tighter, making it basically _impossible _to get this job done. Now that you've screwed it up for the _second _time, we're back at square one. _Again._"

"But he's dead!" Momoshiro blurted out.

Tezuka paused for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"I shot the bodyguard," Echizen answered. "I got him in the same spot as the last one."

"He made it back to the car, but he must be dead by now," Momoshiro finished.

Tezuka didn't respond. His eyes remained full of fury.

"Perhaps the situation can be remedied," Inui stated softly, walking forward to Tezuka's side. "If he's dead, they still have no leads…"

Tezuka dropped his gun to his side, but continued to glare at the two in front of him. "You two won't be getting paid anymore for this job. You can stay on the team, but I don't want to see either one of you until our customer gets what he wants. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now leave."

Momoshiro and Echizen gladly left the room.

Tezuka turned to Inui. "Devolop a new plan for me, one that won't fail. Because if it does, _your _head will be on the line."

Inui pushed up his glasses, hiding his discomfort. "Understood."

Tezuka sat again in his leather chair. "Now leave. All of you."

…

Keigo sat uncomfortably in the chair outside his room. Ootori had pulled up another chair beside him, and was grasping his young master's hand in his own, gently rubbing his arm in an attempt to comfort him. Keigo was wearing the jacket Sanada had given him, and now pulled it tighter around him. It was almost midnight, and the house was starting to feel a little chilly.

The two of them watched the door, not letting their eyes leave for even a moment. They were silent, listening to hear even the slightest sound coming from the room. The doctors had decided they didn't have time to put Sanada under anesthesia before they removed the bullet, so for a long time, there had been a lot of screaming and yelling. The sound had gradually subsided into painful moaning, and for the past few hours now, there had been no sound at all. Keigo couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

Finally, the door opened and the doctor came out, his expression grave. Keigo and Ootori stood.

"What's going on? How is he?" Keigo demanded.

The doctor pushed up his glasses. "He's going to be just fine," he said. "We removed the bullet and sewed up the wound. He lost a lot of blood, so we gave him a transfusion. He'll be completely healed in three weeks."

Keigo let out a huge sigh of relief, even managed a smile.

"Thank you… Thank you so much."

"He's unconscious right now, but if you'd like to see him, you can. I'll come back tomorrow to check on everything."

Keigo thanked the doctor again and went immediately inside, followed closely by his butler. There were a few medical workers still gathering their instruments, but they were soon on their way out.

Keigo didn't even see them.

He went straight to the bedside. Sanada was lying there, eyes closed, looking very tired even while he slept. Keigo removed a few sticky strands of hair from Sanada's forehead, which was beaded with sweat.

"We changed the sheets for you," one of the nurses mentioned softly as she was leaving.

Keigo was still stroking Sanada's cheek. "Thank you," he answered quietly. Then he asked his butler, "Ootori, could you bring me a chair?"

"Yes, sir."

Ootori returned a few moments later, and Keigo sat down.

"Would you like me to stay with you, sir?" Ootori whispered, leaning over.

"No, thank you, Ootori. You can go to bed."

"Goodnight, sir." The butler squeezed Keigo's shoulder gently, then left the room.

Keigo was exhausted. He wanted to stay awake so he would be there when Sanada opened his eyes, but after a few hours of sitting, he let his heavy eyelids close. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

Hours later, Sanada regained consciousness. He had vague recollections of the day's events… Being led into the house, being taken up the elevator to Keigo's room, lying down on the bed, seeing the surgeons standing over him, yelling in pain as they removed the bullet…

He groaned a little, feeling the pain in his side again.

He turned his head to look beside him. Keigo was sitting there, sleeping with his arms crossed and his chin resting on his chest.

"Master Keigo…" Sanada managed, in a whisper.

The seventeen-year-old's eyes slowly blinked open. He realized where he was, sat up, and tenderly placed his hands on Sanada's arm.

"Hey," he said. "How are you feeling?"

Sanada took a deep breath. "Do you have to ask?"

Keigo squeezed Sanada's hand. "Well, the doctor said you're going to be alright."

Sanada fell silent and gazed up at the ceiling.

"What is it, Sanada?" Keigo asked softly.

The bodyguard closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "Master Keigo… After I was shot, when I said I was sorry…"

"Yes?"

Sanada gave Keigo's hand a slight squeeze.

"I was so afraid I was going to die."

Keigo leaned over on top of Sanada, giving him a hug as best he could.

"I was too, Sanada," he said, feeling his eyes start to sting. "When you passed out, I… I thought I'd lost you…" He choked back tears and spoke evenly. "But you're going to be alright… I'm going to take care of you, and everything's going to be okay."

Sanada wrapped his arms around Keigo. They stayed there for a while, both unwilling to let go. Keigo finally pulled away, then crawled cautiously over Sanada to his other side. Sanada offered him an arm, and Keigo settled into it, resting his head on Sanada's shoulder, carefully avoiding the wound.

After a moment's silence, a thought occurred to Sanada. "Master Keigo, why am I in your room?"

Keigo kissed his cheek lovingly. "I wanted you to be comfortable."

"Shouldn't you have just taken me to a hospital?"

The seventeen-year-old actually shuddered at the thought. "A _hospital_? No. Those are for poor people. We pay for house calls."

Sanada stroked Keigo's hair. "Still… wouldn't it have been faster?"

There was a short pause. "Maybe," Keigo admitted. "Perhaps I wasn't thinking completely clearly at the time. Can you really blame me for that?"

"No, I guess not."

There was a long silence, during which they were both thinking. Right now, they were just grateful to be together. They had been so close to losing each other…

Keigo pressed himself a little closer. His ear was against Sanada's chest, and he could hear his heart beating.

It was the most beautiful sound in the world.

It was more relieving than anything else. Keigo knew that if that sound had stopped, even if he hadn't been listening, his world would have fallen apart. Just like he'd thought it would when Kippei died, when _his _heart had ceased its steady rhythm forever…

Keigo closed his eyes, listening to the comforting, repetitious sound.

Sanada spoke suddenly. "You lied to me."

Keigo lifted his head a little, startled. "What?"

"You did steal my jacket."

"Oh…" Keigo laughed and adjusted the blazer's collar, relaxing again. "Yes. I did."

Keigo snuggled a little closer, and Sanada held him a little tighter.

"You should rest now," Keigo suggested.

"Well, so should you."

Keigo smiled a smile that was almost a smirk. "Can I sleep with you?"

Sanada considered the idea. "I guess you could."

Keigo sat up a little and pressed his lips tenderly against Sanada's in a goodnight kiss.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

Keigo settled back down again, and they both went to sleep.

…

A week later, Keigo was feeling frustrated.

He was sitting in his study, attempting to finish some of the reading his tutor had assigned him over the summer. But he couldn't concentrate.

Waiting for Sanada's wound to heal wasn't turning out to be as simple as he'd thought. He hadn't considered the fact that it meant… _abstaining _from certain things. Three weeks was a long time to wait, and as it turned out, he was going to have to wait even longer. The doctor said that, once the wound had healed, Sanada should rest until it had been a full month since he received the injury.

"No strenuous physical activity," were the doctor's exact words, each one of which felt like a stab in the heart to Keigo.

_How could you have been so stupid, Keigo? _he asked himself. _"Let's wait until we get home," he told you, that day in the limousine. And you could have decided to go home right then. But no… you felt the need to go for a **walk**… You had to get **ice cream**…_

_You had to let him get **shot**._

He laid his head onto his folded arms.

_You idiot._

Just then, there was light knock on the door. "Master Keigo?"

Keigo sat up. "What is it, Ootori?"

"Oshitari-san wants to see you."

Keigo blinked, slightly annoyed. "What for?"

A few minutes later, he burst into Oshitari's office. "Oshitari. You wanted to—"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes falling on the stranger standing by Oshitari's desk. The man was tall—just as tall as Sanada, if not taller—and had nicely-combed, dark brown hair.

And he was wearing the bodyguards' uniform.

Keigo immediately put the pieces together. And his first reaction was shock.

_A replacement?_

He clenched one fist, feeling suddenly angry. How dare they hire someone new, without asking him? He glared at the intruder, who stared, very seriously, straight back.

"Who is this?" Keigo demanded, addressing Oshitari, but not letting his eyes leave the newcomer.

"This is Yanagi Renji. He's offered to take the job of being your bodyguard temporarily, until Sanada is back in commission."

Keigo relaxed slightly. "Temporarily," he confirmed.

"Yes. We've hired him for a month."

Keigo stood up a little straighter. The explanation made sense; he should have assumed it was something like that. He shouldn't have jumped to the worst conclusion possible. It just proved how on-edge he'd been lately…

"Well," he said. "Nice to meet you, Yanagi."

The man bowed his head. "Likewise, sir."

Keigo knew it would be impolite to turn around and leave, so he searched for something to say. "So… Do you have any experience?"

"Yes, sir."

Keigo waited to hear what it was. He finally had to ask. "What sort of experience?"

"I could tell you, sir, but then I'd have to kill you. And that would go against the basis of my job description, wouldn't it?"

Keigo raised an eyebrow. He couldn't tell if the man was joking or not. He looked to Oshitari for help, but he was filling out a form, not really paying attention.

Keigo took a deep breath. "Would you like to meet Sanada?"

"Certainly, sir."

The long walk down the hall and up the stairs was utterly silent. Keigo couldn't put a finger on the reason, but he felt strangely uncomfortable around Yanagi. He couldn't quite read him…

Keigo quietly opened the door. "Sanada?"

Sanada was still lying down—doctor's orders—but was propped up a little higher on some pillows, and was reading. He set the book down as soon as he noticed Keigo standing there.

"Hey," he smiled a little.

"You're awake," Keigo responded, walking up to his side. "I'm so used to you being on those painkillers, and sleeping most of the time…"

"Yeah, me too. But I haven't taken any all day."

"How are you feeling?"

"Hanging in there." Sanada decided to change the subject, looking for a quick distraction. "Who's this?" he asked, looking up at Yanagi.

Keigo sighed. "Yanagi Renji, my bodyguard temporarily until you get better. They just hired him today."

"Sanada Genichiroh." Sanada offered his hand.

Yanagi shook it. "Nice to meet you."

Keigo crossed his arms. "I'm afraid that he's not going to have much to do…"

"Why do you say that?" Sanada asked.

"Well… I don't think I'll really feel like going out anytime soon…"

"Are you sure?"

Keigo shrugged, resigned. "We'll see, I suppose." He looked at Yanagi, then back at Sanada. "I should probably go back to studying… Shall I leave the two of you to get acquainted?"

"Yes," Yanagi answered.

Sanada looked Yanagi over carefully. "Yeah… That would be fine."

Keigo walked calmly out of the room. When he closed the door behind him, he felt a wave of relief.

What was it about Yanagi that made him just slightly nervous?

Yanagi sat on the chair by the bed. "So, Genichiroh… may I call you Genichiroh?"

"Um… sure."

"How long have you and Master Keigo been in a relationship?"

Sanada almost sat up. "What?"

"Your relationship. Has it been going on for a while? Or—"

"Wait a minute…" Sanada rubbed his forehead. "Who told you about that?"

"No one. But it's obvious."

"Obvious?"

"Just now. It was easy to tell."

Sanada searched himself, trying to figure out how he had given it away. He gave up finally, and resigned himself to answering the question. "Since the day I was shot… a week ago."

"So it happened before you were shot."

"That's right."

Yanagi nodded, carefully. "I see. And where were you shot?"

"You mean, where were we when it happened? Or, where on my body?"

"First one first, then the other."

Sanada took a deep breath. "We were in a park, five miles directly north of here…"

"Ah, yes. I know where that is."

Sanada raised an eyebrow and continued. "We were just… walking, and I saw somebody…"

"What did this person look like?"

Sanada thought hard about it. "He wasn't very tall… Black hair, I think; spiked… dressed very plainly except for a pair of sunglasses… That's all I remember."

Yanagi just nodded. "And where is your wound?"

Sanada pulled back the covers, then lifted his shirt so Yanagi could see the bandage, bloody on his left side.

"You should have seen the bullet they took out of me," he commented. "It was about… that big." He showed with his fingers.

"What kind of weapon?"

"I'm not sure… Probably something like a sniper rifle. A big one."

Yanagi's expression hardened. "A sniper rifle, huh?"

Sanada searched Yanagi's face. "Why?"

"It's nothing." Yanagi stood up. "I should probably let you rest. You're obviously in pain."

The comment startled Sanada slightly. He'd thought he'd hidden it pretty well…

Yanagi was turning to leave, but Sanada stopped him. "Just one more thing, Yanagi-san…"

"You can call me Renji."

"Whatever. Come closer."

Yanagi obediently leaned down a little. Sanada grabbed his collar and pulled him down further.

He narrowed his eyes. "If you let _anything _happen to Master Keigo, I'll kill you."

Yanagi was unfazed by the fire he saw in Sanada's eyes. "Understood," he responded, simply but sincerely.

Sanada glared at him for another second or so, then let him go. "That's all."

Yanagi straightened. "Alright then. Rest up, Genichiroh." And he was gone.

Sanada picked up his book again, but found himself unable to read. He stared at the words on the page, which became a blur before his unfocused eyes.

_What a strange guy._

…

Yanagi knew he was dreaming.

Obviously he was dreaming. There was no logical way he could have gotten here, no logical way that this place could even exist. He was running down a long, dark hallway, saturated in a black fog. The hallway didn't seem to end, though he could only see about a foot in front of him.

But he kept running.

That was, after all, what one was supposed to do in dreams: follow along with whatever the dream dictated, no matter how unreasonable it may be. Surrender all control.

Besides… he couldn't stop, even if he wanted to.

There was something at the end of that hallway that he wanted, more than anything in the universe. He knew what it was, but his mind convinced him it was something different than what it was. Because, if he was honest, if he admitted what it _really _was, his mind would force him to turn around and run the other direction. Against this better logic, he wanted to get to the end. He'd been running like this for years.

He was so close…

His running slowed to a halt. Somehow he knew he had reached the end. He crept forward cautiously, trying to fan away the fog with his hands. Soon, the fog ahead of him cleared, and he found himself on the edge of a black cliff.

He knew he was dreaming…

The height was dizzying; he couldn't even see the bottom. He inched closer and closer to the edge… He had to; this was a dream…

"_Renji…"_

A voice floated in the air somewhere behind him.

"_Renji…"_

"What?" he demanded.

"_Renji… Don't stand too close to the edge…"_

The arms of the fog came around him, holding his shoulders.

"Why?" he breathed.

"_You'll fall."_

Yanagi felt the fatal push, then jerked awake in a cold sweat.

As calmly as he could, he glanced at the clock. It was past two in the morning. He sighed. It had only been three hours since the last time he woke up.

He leaned back onto his pillow. It was impossible to sleep tonight. He felt a knot forming in the center of his stomach, not unlike the one he'd had the night before he'd left home for college. It was the sort of feeling that kept him guessing; he didn't know whether he was excited or nervous.

He was so close now.

He could feel it about to happen. This was what he'd been waiting for, working for, since he'd finished school. But now that it was so near, he was starting to question if he really wanted it. And, more importantly, _why _he wanted it.

Of course he knew the answer. But he wasn't going to admit it, even in his mind. Because, in the end, it didn't matter.

He didn't have a choice.

Yanagi got out of bed, deciding that he could use some fresh air. But once he got outside of his room, he had second thoughts. Since he was only staying for a month, he'd been given a room on the second floor at the very end of the hall. The long, dark hallway stretching before him looked far too much like his dream. And he didn't want to go there. So he stepped back inside, feeling maybe a little trapped.

He paced his room for a few minutes. He found a book, turned on a lamp, sat down on his bed, started to read, and then stopped, disinterested. He put the book away. After staring off into space for a while, he turned to his nightstand and opened the drawer, pulling out a loose photograph and an old piece of paper.

He studied the photograph for a very long time, trying to remember how he'd felt when it was taken… That was just before everything had started to go wrong. Everything had seemed so clear then…

That was before he realized how little he really knew.

He sighed, wishing he could recapture those happy moments, knowing he would never be able to. But it was the memory that drove him. It was _because_ he would never be able to go back that he had resolved to carry out his plan.

In all honesty, he wanted revenge.

He stared at the face in the picture that stood beside his own.

_I won't fail you._

Yanagi set the picture aside, and unfolded the small piece of paper that was left in his hand. It had three words written on it, in that sweet, familiar hand…

"_Come after me."_

And that was it. It had been decided, with those three words.

He had no choice.

* * *

-end of chapter 10-

Hope you liked!

_Notes…_

I like the idea of Tezuka pointing a gun at people. I don't know why; it just works in my head. Really, I know I'm putting him a little OOC to be so angry all the time and talk so much, but if you were Tezuka the mob boss, you'd be cranky too. XD

Just as with all the characters in this fic, I did have someone in mind to be the doctor. In this case, it was Yagyuu. I was going to mention this whole backstory on how he knew Sanada, because he was the doctor who also took care of Yukimura, but I couldn't find a place to fit it in. Anyway, now you can put a face to him if you want, lol.

I'm glad I finally got to introduce Renji into my story. He is so much fun to write for. I know it's pretty obvious what his whole deal is going to be… if you know, don't give it away. XD

Thanks for reading!


	11. Restraint

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Tezuka will threaten to kill you. And Inui won't be there to save your hide. XD

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **I feel so bad… It's taken me two weeks to upload this chapter, and it's short. Sumimasen……

Enjoy.

* * *

Keigo woke up slowly. As it was with every morning, it took him a minute to realize where he was. But after a moment, he recognized the feeling of being in his own bed. Then he recognized the feeling of someone's warm arms around him, which made him remember everything. And he smiled again, as he had every morning for the past ten days. He was home, he was in Sanada's arms, and they were together. Everything was alright.

He sat up carefully, not wanting to wake his bodyguard. As he looked at Sanada, he soon remembered that he had something else to be grateful for; his dreams had been peaceful, and he hadn't woken up sweating like he had a few times lately.

Keigo bent down and lightly kissed Sanada's lips. But, as usual, it wasn't enough, so he bent down and kissed him again.

Sanada woke up with the second kiss, but didn't open his eyes. Of course he knew who was kissing him. He wrapped his arms around his young master, pulling him down just as he was starting to pull away. Keigo let out a soft, happy little moan.

"Master Keigo."

Sanada let go. Keigo sat up quickly to find Oshitari standing at the doorway, looking less than pleased.

"What?" Keigo asked, annoyed.

Oshitari's expression was serious. "We need to talk."

"What about?" Keigo nervously ran his fingers through his hair.

Oshitari's eyes narrowed. "Come with me."

Keigo looked back at Sanada. They could both sense each other's embarrassment. Keigo reluctantly got out of bed and followed Oshitari to the study.

Oshitari shut the door behind him. "Master Keigo, your behavior lately has been completely inappropriate."

Keigo crossed his arms. "Do you really think I care what you think, or what anyone else thinks?"

Oshitari stepped closer, looking him straight in the eye. "The point is that you _should _care. Do you know what it looks like when the young master of this house is sharing his bed with a security guard? People talk. And when—"

"I love him," Keigo interrupted.

Oshitari glared in silence for a moment. His voice became frighteningly low. "Your father has been preoccupied for the past two weeks with a huge business deal, and he has no idea what you've been doing. But sooner or later, he's going hear what's been going on, and it's not going to be pretty for you, _young_ Master Keigo."

Keigo was dumbfounded for a moment at the complete disdain with which Oshitari uttered the last three words. He regained his composure and replied, "I don't honestly care what _he _thinks, either."

"Oh, really?" Oshitari leaned towards him. "You're not worried that, as soon as he hears, he's going to kick Sanada out of the house immediately, whether he's healed or not? Perhaps I should go tell him now, and see what he does."

Keigo was startled. "If you do that, I'll tell Father about that nice little affair you've been having with one of his maids." He smirked. "You'll be fired immediately."

Oshitari almost laughed at that. "Yes, but then I'll be out of here. _You _will still have to live with him." He pushed up his glasses. "And I'm certain _that _will be most pleasant."

Keigo shut his mouth, unable to argue.

Oshitari straightened. "I'm having Sanada moved back to his own room."

"What? Why?"

"I just told you why."

Keigo was shocked. The thought of Sanada stuck in that tiny, dark room by himself really bothered him. Sanada still wasn't allowed out of bed, and no one would be there if he needed anything. Keigo started getting desperate.

"What if I slept in one of the guest rooms?" he suggested.

"No."

Keigo put his foot down. "You can't do this."

Oshitari paused for a moment. He obviously didn't appreciate the questioning of his authority. "Your father gave me absolute control over all the servants and _you_ when he's busy, and he _expects _me to exercise this power. I've decided, and I'm not going to let you change my mind."

Keigo's eyes narrowed. He wasn't a child anymore, and he hated that Oshitari always treated him like one.

Oshitari continued. "I think you've made it clear that I can't trust you. So I'm going to make sure you don't let things get out of hand." He pushed up his glasses again. "You're not allowed to see Sanada unless Yanagi is in the room with you."

Keigo's jaw dropped.

"_What_?"

"You heard me." Oshitari turned on one heel and went to the door. "I guess that means I'll have to go tell Yanagi that he'll be playing babysitter."

That was the last straw. Atobe grabbed a book off his desk and threw it towards Oshitari. It hit the door just as it clicked shut.

"Damn you, Oshitari," he hissed, under his breath.

He sat down at his desk and held his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he'd lost his composure. But Oshitari was one of those people who could get on his last nerve, especially when he was being so patronizing.

And Keigo had been so frustrated lately…

He groaned. Things on that front were only going to get harder, now that someone else would always be in the room with them. He didn't trust Yanagi… He didn't like how the new bodyguard seemed to see everything, and how he never told anyone what he saw or what he was thinking. It was creepy.

He sighed.

Why did this have to be so difficult?

…

Yanagi heard a knock on his door. He got up and opened it. It was Oshitari.

"Yes, sir?"

Oshitari had a strange smirk on his face. "I have a job for you."

"What's that, sir?"

"Master Keigo has been… misbehaving lately. And I need you to supervise him."

Yanagi had his suspicions, but he thought it wise to ask. "How's that, sir?"

Oshitari crossed his arms. "I want you to be in the room whenever he's with Sanada. Just to make sure things don't progress too far."

Yanagi clutched the door a little more tightly.

Oshitari stared at him over the rims of his glasses. "If anything happens, your job is on the line. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Yanagi replied, hiding his reluctance.

The director of the guard turned to leave. "I'm sorry to fill up your schedule like this; I know you'll constantly have work now. I suggest you go to Master Keigo's room as soon as possible. No doubt he went straight to see Sanada after I left him."

Yanagi closed the door. He gathered his things, all the while sensing what a tight spot he was in. He could see everything that was going on with Keigo and Sanada, and the last thing he wanted was to interfere. After all, he knew what it was like…

On the other hand, if he didn't do as he was told, he'd be fired. And for him, that wasn't an option. This job was the key to getting the last pieces of information he needed. He was so close now…

He headed out the door.

Sure enough, when he got to Keigo's room, Keigo was there at Sanada's side, explaining the situation.

"I hate the thought of you having to go back to that tiny little room… Especially if you're going to be all alone…"

"I'll be alright…"

"Maybe I can have Ootori stay with you during the day. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Whatever you want." Sanada looked up. "Oh, Renji."

Keigo turned around, looking a little disappointed.

Yanagi put his hands behind his back. "If you don't mind, sir, I need to use your restroom."

"Oh, of course." Keigo pointed. "In there."

"Thank you, sir." He disappeared down the connecting hallway. When he shut the door, he placed his ear against it so he could listen.

"I don't trust that man," Keigo was saying in a hushed voice.

"Why not?"

"He's a little creepy, don't you think? I can never tell what's going on in that head of his, but I have a hunch that it's way too much…"

"I guess I see your point. But I trust him."

"You do?"

"Yes."

There was a pause.

"Have you been alright lately, sir?" The tone of Sanada's voice had changed.

"I told you, Sanada… Call me Keigo."

"Sorry. I'm still not used to it."

"That's alright."

"But really… you seem so restless lately…"

There was a short silence. "You don't know why, Sanada?"

A light sigh. "Keigo… I'm sorry about all of this."

"It's not your fault you got shot. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"Keigo…"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I really can't help sometimes feeling like, if I'd just taken you home…"

"You didn't know."

Another sigh. "I know…"

After a moment, Sanada said, "Maybe you should go out. You know, get out of the house."

"I don't know, Sanada… with _him_?"

"I told you, I trust him."

"Why?"

"He'll take care of you. I made him promise."

"Sanada…"

Another pause.

"Sanada, I really don't know… After everything that's happened…"

"I understand."

"But, then again, I really don't care if Yanagi gets shot."

"Keigo!"

A chuckle. "Come on, Sanada. You know I didn't mean it." Then he added, "Completely."

"Keigo…"

There was a long silence.

"Alright, Sanada. I'll go out tomorrow, if you insist."

"Good. I think you'll feel better."

"Yes, well… We'll see."

Yanagi reached over to flush the toilet, then opened the door and went back out to them.

"What took you so long?" was Keigo's greeting.

"Was I so long?" Yanagi asked calmly.

"Don't worry, Renji," Sanada interjected. "You'll get used to hearing that from him."

"In any case…" Keigo stood up. "I've decided I want to go out shopping. Is that alright?"

Yanagi nodded. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, sir."

"Good." Keigo walked towards the door. "Ootori!"

The butler instantly appeared. "Yes, Master Keigo?"

"When they move Sanada back to his room, could you stay with him?"

Ootori nodded, smiling. "Certainly, sir."

"Get him whatever he needs. Treat him like you would me." Keigo then turned to Yanagi. "Well, shall we go?"

"Yes, sir."

They walked out the door. Then, at a second's thought, Keigo slipped back inside. Yanagi peered in to see his young master giving Sanada a kiss goodbye.

…

"You're even quieter than Sanada."

Yanagi turned suddenly to face Keigo. The seventeen-year-old had caught him staring into space, lost in his train of thought.

"I apologize, sir. Was there something you wanted to discuss?"

"No," Keigo sighed. "But for heaven's sake, can't you say _something_? You're so quiet that it's making me nervous."

"I make you nervous?"

"Well, not exactly…"

"Then what?"

Keigo took a deep breath. He didn't know why he was so irked. "Alright. So maybe you _do _make me nervous." After a pause, he said, "I'm tired of shopping. Let's just go walk."

When they got outside the store and started walking again, Keigo quickly realized that nothing had changed. Yanagi still remained silent.

"Will you just say _something, _Yanagi?" Keigo blurted, frustrated.

"What would you like me to say, sir?"

"Anything."

Yanagi took a moment to think before responding, "May I ask you some questions?"

Keigo rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure he was in the mood for that, but he said, "Fine." He didn't realize that the questions were going to last through the entire rest of the day.

Yanagi started, "Oshitari said that your household has been experiencing security breaches for a while now. How long exactly has this been going on?"

Keigo hesitated. He wasn't actually sure how long it had been; so much had happened in that time…

"I'm not sure. Somewhere around two months."

"Would you say that sixty-seven days might be a possibility?"

"Um… certainly."

"How many times has the alarm been tripped?"

"I would guess… at least fifteen times."

"Has anyone seen the perpetrators?"

"No. Except… one night, I did see someone I didn't recognize at my window…"

"How recently?"

"Just a few nights after Sanada was hired."

"When was he hired?"

Keigo thought. "Sixteen days ago."

Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "I see. What did this person at the window look like?"

"Scary. Black, piercing eyes, dark skin… Black hair, I think, but he was wearing a beanie…"

Yanagi nodded. "How long ago was your last bodyguard shot?"

Keigo took a deep breath. "Twenty-one days ago."

"You were with him?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"At a park…" Keigo looked around. "Near here, actually."

"Where was he hit?"

"On his left side, almost exactly the same place Sanada was, if I remember correctly."

"Did you see anyone around?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did you see anyone when Sanada was shot?"

"No… Sanada thought he saw someone, but I didn't. He said he saw the same person he'd seen a few days before…"

"A few days before?"

"He said someone was following us. He thinks it was the same person, both times."

"That makes sense. So… when he told you that you were being followed, did you believe him?"

"Of course."

"Had you noticed anything strange?"

"No… Things like that have always seemed to happen when I'm not paying attention."

"Interesting…" Yanagi was silent for a short time before he continued. "I'm going to have to assume that they're trying to kidnap you. Would you assume the same?"

Keigo blinked, surprised that Yanagi had figured that out, when no one else had except for himself. "Yes… I would. I've been saying that since Tachibana was shot."

"Why?" Yanagi asked, looking at Keigo very seriously.

"Why… what?"

"What makes you assume that?"

Keigo winced. "I thought you were assuming the same thing."

"I am. But I want to know why _you_ are."

"Well…" Keigo trailed off, thinking. "Mostly because the bullets never hit me. And, both times, I only heard one shot. Any gunman who thought he might miss by that much would fire more than once. In fact, it seems odd to me that anyone would shoot just one time…"

Yanagi nodded again, very slowly.

"What sum do you think they'll ask for a ransom?"

The question caught Keigo a little by surprise. It made the possibility of being kidnapped seem too… possible. Especially the way Yanagi had phrased it: "they _will_" instead of "they would."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know anything about that… I assume that it would be a lot."

"How much?"

"Billions."

"Do you think your father will pay that much?"

Keigo literally stopped in his tracks.

"Master Keigo?"

"I…" The words caught in Keigo's throat. Then again, he didn't know what words they were.

He tried to imagine his father paying a billion dollars for a son he didn't act particularly fond of.

"I… don't know…" Keigo stuttered, his eyes far away.

_Would he?_

Yanagi could tell that the question was bothering Keigo, so he put one hand on the seventeen-year-old's shoulder and suggested, "Let's get something to eat, sir."

Keigo still didn't exactly look at him. "Alright."

On their way, they passed the park Keigo had mentioned. As they did, Yanagi walked slower, looking carefully at a patch of bushes.

"What is it?" Keigo asked.

Yanagi stared for a few more moments, then answered. "Nothing. Let's go."

…

"I swear he was looking right at the camera."

Eiji took the picture from Oishi's hands, looking at it. "You're right; that's creepy."

"Do you think he saw us?" Oishi was growing increasingly nervous.

"Don't be ridiculous," Eiji replied, handing the picture back. "He'd have to have x-ray vision to have seen where we were hiding."

Oishi studied the picture again. "I don't know, Eiji…"

Eiji rolled her eyes. "Come on, stop worrying. Let's just give the picture to Tezuka."

When they got to the office, Inui was already there, discussing things with their boss. The two men turned when Oishi and Eiji entered.

"Here's the picture you wanted, Tezuka." Oishi handed it to him.

Tezuka glanced at it, then handed it to Inui. "We don't have a name for you this time, Inui. Can you identify this man from his picture?"

Inui's pale face suddenly looked even paler.

"Inui?" Eiji leaned towards him. "What is it?"

Inui clutched the picture tightly. "It's… nothing." He pushed up his glasses, which glinted in the dim light. "Tezuka… I'm going to need more time."

Tezuka crossed his arms. "What's the problem, Inui?"

"No problem. This will just take… _careful_ planning." He placed the picture on Tezuka's desk and left the room.

* * *

-end of chapter 11-

Hope you liked! Sorry there were no goodies… this was kind of just a necessary chapter…

No notes this time. I'm feeling lazy, nyaaa…

_Next chapter… _Keigo finally gets what he wants, but will it cost him everything?

Stay tuned!!! I'll try to post the next chapter as quickly as possible.


	12. Finally

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Oshitari will lock you in a tower like a damsel in distress.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took me so long to update… the next update should not take me so long, because I already have the next chapter written.

Two more chapters, guys! We're almost to the end!

Enjoy.

* * *

Yanagi stood in the corner, trying his best to be invisible.

Keigo was in Sanada's room, and they were talking again. By this time, Sanada's wound had been healed for a few days, but he was still supposed to be resting. Yanagi could tell that all the waiting had taken its toll on Keigo; the seventeen-year-old very well seemed as if he might explode from frustration at any given moment. He was constantly asking to go out, and when they went, his chosen activity would always seem to frustrate him more. Then they would go home, and within a few hours, Keigo would be feeling "claustrophobic" again.

Things were a little better, though, when Keigo was with Sanada. They'd grown a bit more comfortable with the idea of having someone else in the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Yanagi watched them kiss again, in that painfully beautiful and passionate way they always did.

"It's getting late," Keigo said when he pulled away. "I should let you sleep."

Sanada held onto Keigo's hand. "What if I'm not tired?"

"Please, don't tempt me." Keigo lightly kissed Sanada's cheek and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sanada got up and followed Keigo to the door. They kissed again, quite obviously unwilling to say goodbye. But they did, and Yanagi followed Keigo out the door and down the hallway.

Keigo tried his best not to sigh. It was frustrating—humiliating, almost—to be led down the halls of his own house like a criminal, only to be locked into his room as soon as he got there. He didn't blame Yanagi; he was just doing what he had no doubt been instructed to do. And it wasn't so bad, being locked in his room… If he needed anything, he had a phone and knew several people in the house he could call who would be sure to answer. Most nights, he just slept anyway, and Ootori always unlocked the door and came in long before he was awake.

It wasn't so bad…

There was, of course, the one exception. He was still having those dreams.

At least once almost every night, Keigo would wake up wet and panting. That's when he felt trapped. Often, he'd go to the door and check, hoping in vain that Yanagi had forgotten to lock it. He was always forced to return to his bed, alone and unsatisfied. Sometimes it took him a full hour to calm down.

As they were walking, Yanagi sensed Keigo's frustration. When they got to his room, Yanagi didn't close the door right away.

"Master Keigo?"

"Yes?" Keigo responded, half-heartedly.

"I'm going to take a shower." Yanagi worded the sentence slowly. "And then I think I'll go straight to bed… You won't need me for anything, will you?"

"No," Keigo answered, feeling a bit confused. Yanagi had never said this much as he was leaving before.

"Alright, then… Sleep well, sir." Yanagi closed the door carefully and left.

Keigo got ready to go to bed. In the back of his mind, he started analyzing what Yanagi had said, how he'd made every word seem somehow significant. There was something behind it… It wasn't until Keigo was finished brushing his teeth that he figured it out.

He ran to his door and turned the handle.

It was unlocked.

Keigo's heart started beating a little faster as he faced his decision. After a moment, though, he smiled, realizing what an easy decision it was.

He went back to his bathroom mirror. He played with his hair a little, smoothing it down, but quickly deciding that it looked perfect, as always. He then went to his closet, took off his pajamas, and slipped into his silkiest robe. After putting on a pair of slippers, he crept quietly out of his room.

He got to Sanada's room without anyone seeing him. Using his key, he entered without making a sound, and found Sanada in his bed, already asleep. He smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Silently, he made his way around Sanada's bed, then carefully got under the covers. He wrapped his arms around the sleeping bodyguard and started kissing him.

Sanada woke up slowly. "Keigo?"

"Shhh…" Keigo put a finger to Sanada's lips. "We can't let anyone hear us," he whispered.

Sanada suddenly realized what they were doing. "Keigo…" he breathed.

Keigo stopped his thought with a kiss. He got on top of Sanada as he did so, savoring the feeling of Sanada's arms wrapping around his waist. They kissed like this for a long time.

Keigo stopped and pulled back for a moment. "Sanada… is it alright if we do this?" he asked in a hushed voice. "I know you're still supposed to be resting…"

"I'll be alright," Sanada responded, pulling Keigo back down.

After another prolonged kiss, Keigo paused, letting his hand tenderly make its way to Sanada's side, just above his left hip.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked quietly.

"It's a little sore," Sanada admitted. He noticed Keigo's expression darken slightly.

"It's going to leave a scar, isn't it?" Keigo said wistfully.

"Yes," Sanada answered, after a moment. It was silent then, and he really wished he could think of something to say.

"You still haven't looked at it," he mentioned finally.

Keigo stared at the fabric that hid the wound. "I've been afraid, I think."

Sanada brought Keigo's face a little closer and kissed his forehead. "Would you like to look at it?"

Keigo just nodded.

Sanada sat up and pulled off his shirt. As he looked silently for a minute, Keigo felt even more disappointed. It wasn't a large scar, or even so hard to look at, but it marred such a perfect body, like a crack on a beautiful statue. Keigo touched it gently.

"It's a shame…" he muttered, almost inaudibly.

"I don't think so."

Keigo looked up into Sanada's eyes. They were soft and loving.

"Why not?" he asked softly.

Sanada ran his fingers through Keigo's hair. "You're safe because I have this scar."

Keigo felt his cheeks turn slightly pink. Sanada's hand moved down the side of his face, and he turned into it, pressing his warm cheek against Sanada's palm.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Sanada whispered back, with strong sincerity.

Keigo pressed against Sanada's shoulders with his fingers, gently coaxing him to lie down again. He kissed him once on the lips, then turned his attention back to the wound, lightly touching it. After a moment, he leaned down and began kissing the scar. Sanada closed his eyes, feeling the perfectly loving way Keigo pressed his lips against his side. Some part of him almost wanted to cry.

Keigo pulled the covers back on top of them, and went back to kissing Sanada's lips. After a while, Sanada noticed that Keigo was untying the knot on his belt. Moments later, Keigo slid out of his robe and tossed it aside.

"Keigo…" Sanada managed.

The seventeen-year-old smirked a little, then continued kissing his lover, settling into his strong arms, where he spent the night away.

…

Keigo and Sanada woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Just a minute!" Sanada called, getting up. He kissed Keigo once, then went to put on his clothes. The knocking didn't stop.

"Hang on…" Sanada picked up his pace a little. Keigo also got out of bed and put on his robe. The knocking continued.

"Keigo! I know you're in there. Come out here."

The couple's eyes met for a moment. Keigo's were filled with fear.

"Father," he breathed.

The knocking got louder. Sanada hesitated, suddenly afraid to open the door. Keigo finished tying his belt and went to the door before Sanada could stop him. "Keigo! Don't—"

It was too late; the door was open, and the house's two masters stood staring at each other with disdain in their eyes.

"I heard you weren't in your bed this morning, Keigo," Atobe said slowly. "And then, when I asked, they sent me here."

Keigo stayed silent, somehow managing to keeping his composure.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" his father asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Keigo replied.

Atobe took a deep breath. "Well. I believe _I_ have a thing or two to say to _you_." He looked past Keigo at Sanada, who just stood there, dumbfounded. "You're fired."

"Father!"

"And as for you…" Atobe grabbed Keigo's arm and started dragging him down the hall. "We need to talk."

Atobe took his son into his study and locked the door. Then he shoved Keigo up against the bookcase and hit him across the face.

Keigo rubbed his cheek. "Father… What was—"

"Don't ask me what that was for. You know exactly what you've been doing wrong."

The seventeen-year-old looked up into his father's anger-filled eyes. "What have I been doing wrong?" he asked quietly.

Atobe stood up taller, looking down. "I can't have my son involved in love affairs with other men."

"Oh, so you'd prefer that I have numerous affairs with other women, like you," Keigo shot back.

"Damn right," the master yelled. "You're my only heir. Which means that _you _have to continue the family. You're going to be married, and you're going to have children. And in case you didn't notice, you're _already _engaged."

Keigo glared. "A fact that I'm not too pleased about."

"Pity." Atobe went to his desk and pulled out a cigar.

Keigo pushed himself away from the bookcase. "Perhaps I'll treat her the same way you treat Mother. You don't seem too ashamed of the fact that you've been with every maid in this house." He paused to let that sink in, watching his father come towards him again. "I don't see how my affairs would be any different."

Atobe blew smoke into Keigo's face. His voice was deep and intense. "No son of mine is going to be gay."

"Well, I am." Keigo leaned forward, staring up into Atobe's eyes. "Pity."

With that, Keigo walked briskly to the door and opened it.

"Keigo…" his father warned.

The seventeen-year-old only paused for a moment before leaving the room.

"Keigo! Come back here! _Now!_"

Keigo went straight to his room, calling, "Ootori!"

"Yes, Master Keigo?" The butler was nervous at his young master's tone of voice.

"Get Yanagi, _now. _I want to go out."

"Yes, sir." Ootori disappeared quickly.

As Keigo got dressed, his hands shook with anger. He couldn't stay in this house for another moment. And he couldn't face Sanada; not now… If Sanada was really being forced to leave, he would be back before he was gone. But he had to get away to calm his nerves, for an hour at least.

Yanagi appeared at the door, followed by Ootori. "You needed me, sir?"

"Yes. We're going out." Keigo turned to his butler. "Ootori, go tell Sanada not to worry; that I'll be back very soon, before he's gone."

Ootori's eyes got a little wider. "Gone, sir?"

"I'm afraid I got him fired."

Ootori and Yanagi shot a glance at each other. Keigo took a deep breath and headed out the door. "Come on, Yanagi."

It was a quiet drive to an undetermined destination. Yanagi was the first one to break the silence. "I'm… sorry, sir. Last night… I didn't intend—"

"Don't apologize," Keigo interrupted.

It was quiet again, but much less tense. Yanagi waited for Keigo to say something else, to explain, but the young master never did.

They went out for a walk. It was a nice day out, and it was quiet. Keigo felt a lot better after about fifteen minutes. But when he turned to his bodyguard to suggest that they go home, he noticed that Yanagi seemed to be looking at something. Keigo looked around, trying to figure out what it was. He couldn't see anything.

Finally, he asked, "What is it?"

"Stay here," Yanagi said, with almost a hint of excitement in his voice. "I'll be right back."

"Yanagi!" Keigo protested, but Yanagi had already started leaving.

"Don't move!" the bodyguard commanded.

Keigo just stood there.

What in the world was going on?

For a few minutes, he just tried to figure out where Yanagi had run off to. He had disappeared behind a small building that was just twenty feet away. What had made him leave in such a hurry, without explaining?

The wind picked up slightly. Keigo started getting nervous. It had been a while… Suddenly, he was feeling very alone and vulnerable.

"Yanagi!" he called.

No answer.

He started walking towards the building. "Yanagi!" he called again.

Just then, he felt someone grab him from behind. He tried to yell, but the man was covering his mouth. He struggled as he felt his feet leave the ground.

"We've finally got you," a deep voice said, somewhere above him.

Keigo kicked his legs. He'd never felt so helpless. A thousand thoughts were running through his head.

_Damn you, Yanagi! I knew I couldn't trust you…_

_I can't get kidnapped… Not now; I need to go home… Sanada's leaving…_

_Sanada…_

His eyes began to sting.

The man who was carrying him suddenly stopped moving. Keigo heard Yanagi's voice, and ceased his struggling so he could listen.

"I knew you'd fall for that, Sadaharu. Pathetic."

The man holding Keigo laughed. "You knew I'd _fall _for that," he repeated with sarcasm.

"Let go of that boy." Yanagi moved his gun closer to Inui's head.

"Or else you'll shoot me, is that what you're implying?" He laughed again. Then his voice softened. "We finally meet again, after all this time… and you say you're going to _shoot_ me."

Yanagi's hand shook, but didn't drop.

"Renji… Don't make me laugh."

"You have three seconds, Sadaharu…"

Inui chuckled.

"Three…"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Renji?"

"Two…"

"Did you honestly think it would be this easy?"

"One."

Kaidoh hit Yanagi over the head, knocking him out.

"I came prepared," Inui said, looking down at Yanagi's unconcious form. "Apparently, you haven't just gotten stupider; you're blind and deaf now too. You couldn't even tell that someone was sneaking up behind you." He adjusted his grip on his victim. "Good work, Kaidoh."

Keigo looked down at his fallen bodyguard.

_What just happened?_

"Pick him up, Kaidoh; we're taking him too. If you can't carry him, just drag him." Keigo found himself being carried once again. Moments later, he was tied up, blindfolded, gagged, and shoved into a black car with Yanagi beside him.

…

Sanada paced his room for the thousandth time, stopping only to look at the clock again.

It had been four hours.

His things lay packed on the floor. He had been told to leave as soon as possible, but Keigo had promised him he'd be back before then…

He clenched his fists. Something must be wrong.

He rushed out the door and ran into Ootori in the hall. The butler seemed extremely frantic.

"Sanada-san! It's horrible!"

"What?"

"Master Keigo has been kidnapped!"

Sanada's heart stopped beating for a second.

_No…_

He was instantly filled with rage. "_What?_" he repeated.

"Kajimoto-san just came back, saying that he'd been waiting for Master Keigo to call for hours, and that he tried to reach him but couldn't—"

Sanada pushed past Ootori and ran to Oshitari's office. Oshitari wasn't there, so Sanada went straight to Atobe's study. He found the master of the house and Oshitari waiting by the phone along with two detectives. A lot of equipment was set up to trace the coming call and record the conversation.

"What is going on?" Sanada demanded, breathless.

Atobe glared at him. "I thought I fired you."

Oshitari stood up. "Yes, Sanada. You were supposed to leave _hours _ago," he hissed.

"I don't care." Sanada felt his anger rising. "Tell me what—"

The phone rang. Everyone was still for a moment.

Atobe picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

A garbled voice answered. "Hello, Atobe-san. And company, I'm sure."

"Where is my son?"

"He's alive, and he's just fine. Unfortunately, I don't have time to let you talk to him; calls like this must always be rushed. In any case, he's not available. A bit… tied up, if you will."

"Don't joke around with me. What do you want?" To Sanada, Atobe seemed frustratingly calm.

"Down to business; I like that." There came a garbled noise that sounded something like laughter. "We want everything."

"Excuse me?"

"The entire Atobe fortune."

Atobe paused, gripping the phone more tightly. "How much do you think I have?"

"Picky. All right; we'll talk in dollars. We want $100 billion, in cash. Are you going to pay or not?"

Tension hung in the air. Sanada couldn't believe this was happening.

_$100 billion?_

"I don't have time to endure your deliberation, Atobe-san. I'm sure you understand. If you don't answer, I'm going to assume you won't pay. So I'll just hang up and kill your son."

"I'm not going to pay," Atobe said slowly but confidently.

Sanada was paralyzed.

"A shame. I'm afraid I can't negotiate. Have your detectives try to find us; if you're lucky, you'll find your son's body in a river or a dumpster somewhere. Adieu."

A click sounded over the speaker.

Oshitari removed the headphones and turned to the detectives. "What does the tracker say?"

"Pay phone. Hardly used, I suspect, and located in a remote area away from traffic."

"And the voice?"

"Obviously altered by some device. But it sounds like an old model; we won't be able to find them through the seller."

Sanada couldn't take it anymore. He glared at the detetives. His whole body was shaking violently.

"You… had _better… _find him," he managed.

"Get out of my house," the master replied. He was looking at the bookcase behind the desk, and his back was facing everyone else in the room.

Sanada glared daggers at Atobe's back. Having no choice, he left. As he did so, he vaguely sensed the mistress running into the room behind him. He heard her wailing seconds later, but didn't turn back to look. He went to his room, gathered his belongings, and departed the mansion.

…

Tezuka burst into the doors of his office, obviously frustrated. Everyone was there waiting for him.

"So?" Inui ventured.

"Sakaki is a fool." Tezuka slammed his briefcase onto the desk. "Of course Atobe wouldn't pay. No man would pay his entire fortune for a son when his wife is still in her thirties."

"So, this means we're killing the boy?" Fuji asked softly.

Tezuka sighed. "Before we do that, we're going to have to re-negotiate with our customer." He rubbed his forehead. "He's obviously not going to pay as much as he would have if we'd put $100 billion into his pocket. But he'd _better _pay us _something_, and he knows it, too… But, yes, then we'll kill our hostage."

No one dared say a word. Everyone was disappointed, tense, and anxious.

"All that effort… _wasted,_" Tezuka muttered, voicing all of their thoughts. "And now the police are that much closer to finding us. Our customers never seem to _grasp _that concept."

It was still silent. Tezuka came back around his desk. "Well, I'm in a bad mood. I'm going to give our hostage the news; I think I'll feel better then." As he was leaving, he instructed, "The rules are the same as always. No one leaves until we've disposed of the body." He shot a glance at Inui. "Actually, _bodies _in this case." With that, he closed the door behind him.

Keigo looked up when Tezuka entered the tiny room in which he was trapped. He was tied to a chair, but not gagged; he'd long since discovered that screaming could not save him. Tezuka walked closer and stopped, hovering over him.

"I have good news and bad news." Tezuka crossed his arms. "I'll give you the bad news first: Your father refused to pay your ransom."

Keigo winced, but otherwise hid his pain very well. "There's _good _news?"

"The good news is that you'll never have to see your father again." Tezuka walked a few steps away.

Keigo hung his head. "That _is _good news."

There was a long pause. Tezuka took a cigartte out of his pocket and lit it. Keigo turned as best he could to look at him.

"How soon are you going to kill me?" he asked.

Tezuka exhaled a puff of smoke and a sigh. "Not until we re-negotiate with our customer. We need to make sure we don't need you for anything else. Sometimes our unsatisfied clients want heads on silver platters as consolation." He took another inhale. "It could be a few days… maybe even a week."

"And you really think the police won't have found you by then?"

Tezuka's head snapped to look at Keigo. "I don't like your attitude," he uttered, walking over. With his hand, he tipped up Keigo's chin. "You should watch your tongue. We're no longer obligated to leave you unharmed."

"I'm not scared of you."

Tezuka blew a puff of smoke into his face. "Then you obviously don't know me at all."

Keigo coughed a little, then glared at Tezuka again. "Someone is going to find me."

"Oh?" Tezuka dropped his hand. "Tell me. Who do you think is going to come and save you?"

Keigo's gaze dropped slightly. His heart was pounding.

Tezuka chuckled a little. "Did you charm _another _bodyguard into falling in love with you?"

Keigo looked up. "What?"

"But, of course, that can't be true, since this Yanagi guy is desperately in love with—"

"Sanada isn't dead."

Tezuka's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

Keigo tossed his head a little. "Sanada survived. He's recovering right now."

Tezuka tapped his cigarette, causing amber ashes to fall onto the floor. Keigo could sense his anger rising.

He went on, "He's almost completely better, and he's going to come find me. And when he does, you and your little band of murderers will be as good as dead."

Tezuka threw his cigarette onto the floor and crushed it with his toe, thinking.

"He's alive, huh?"

Keigo didn't answer, but swallowed discreetly.

"We'll take care of that."

Tezuka left the room, slamming the door behind him.

He went to his office, then through the side door to his bedroom. Fuji was brushing her hair, and saw his reflection in the mirror of her vanity.

"Darling, I have a job for you," he said.

* * *

-end of chapter 12-

I'm not sure how much I like this chapter… everything I've written lately feels a little rushed to me. I want to argue that it's because now the plot's more action-based, but maybe it's just because I want to get to the end. XD

Hope you liked!

_Next chapter… _Yanagi and Inui are reunited. What do their past and future hold? Also… Tezuka's plot to kill Sanada is implemented. Will it succeed?


	13. Stains

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Tezuka will call your house and ask for 100 billion dollars, in cash. So it won't matter anyway.

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **I updated this weekend! Granted, at 10:00 Sunday night… but, this weekend!

This is the second-to-last chapter, guys! We're almost done! The next one is going to be kind of long, so it might be a while before I post… sorry about that…

Enjoy.

* * *

Yanagi glanced up at the door for the hundreth time, waiting for it to open.

This was torture.

He sighed and lowered his eyes. In an effort to get more comfortable, he shifted his hands behind his back where they had been tied. He was currently kneeling on the floor, but his legs were starting to fall asleep again, so he adjusted his position, pulling his bound ankles out from under him and leaning against the wall.

He looked towards the door. Still nothing.

It was rather funny, he thought to himself. He'd been waiting five years for this, but he still didn't know what he was going to say when the door actually opened.

He closed his eyes, trying to keep his mind occupied. Memories… yes, that was something he could always go back to. It seemed fitting, even, at this point. He tried to think of something he wanted to remember.

Maybe one of those many mornings…

His mind painted a picture, and he was back in his old apartment, in his bed, waking up too late for the second time that week.

…

"_Sadaharu? Did you turn my alarm off again?"_

_Inui just laughed and pulled Yanagi back down to the bed._

"_That's not funny," Yanagi scolded, trying to get away. "If I'm late to class one more time, my professor will—"_

"_Oh, forget school, Renji." Inui kissed his neck. "Let's just stay home today."_

_Yanagi relaxed a little, accepting a kiss on the lips, even prolonging it a little before forcing himself away._

"_I can't," he argued, getting up. "I don't want to fail this class."_

_Inui sat up, watching Yanagi dress himself in front of the window._

"_Techically, Sadaharu, it's your class too," Yanagi continued, pushing his arm through the sleeve of his shirt. "Not that you've ever attended it."_

_Inui didn't respond, causing Yanagi to turn and look at him._

"_You just don't care, do you?"_

"_Renji," Inui said without turning. "Do you ever feel like… your life is going in the wrong direction?"_

_Yanagi finished buckling his belt and studied his roommate's face. "No… No, I don't," he replied confidently. Inui didn't say anything, so Yanagi sat beside him and continued. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm going to finish college, finish training to do dectective work, and I'm going to—**we're** going to start our own agency. Together."_

_Inui leaned back onto his hands and threw his head back a little, chuckling. "Of course we are."_

_Yanagi got that horribly sinking feeling he'd been getting lately, the one he always tried to ignore. "Sadaharu?"_

_Inui turned his head the other way. "It's nothing."_

_There was an uncomfortable pause. Yanagi clenched one fist._

"_Since when do you hide things from me, Sadaharu?" he whispered._

_It was here that Inui turned to look at him, gazing at him with two dark, beautiful eyes that showed a hint of sorrow. Choosing not to answer the question, he fingered Yanagi's collar. "You've worn this same turtleneck eleven times so far this month."_

_Yanagi sighed. "I don't have another one."_

"_Why do you have to wear it?"_

"_You know why. Our classmates are all terribly inquisitive. I don't particularly want to answer everyone's questions about how I got all of these hickeys."_

_Inui stroked Yanagi's hair. "Are you ashamed of me, Renji?"_

_Yanagi felt his thought train come to a halt. Inui had this uncanny ability to make his mind go blank. He felt like he had just been stabbed through the heart. "Ashamed?" he repeated softly. "No! Never…"_

"_Maybe you should be."_

_Yanagi frowned. "Why do you say things like that?"_

_Inui reached over and squeezed Yanagi's shoulder, causing him to flinch._

"_That's still sore, I see," Inui observed, not moving his hand._

_Yanagi grimaced. "It's fine. Really. I just… aggravated it a bit last night."_

"_You mean, **I** did."_

"_Sadaharu—" Yanagi was interrupted by a kiss. It had seemed so strange to him lately, at what times Inui would choose to kiss him like that…_

_As Inui pulled back, he put pressure on Yanagi's shoulder again. Yanagi moaned softly, and Inui let out a dark chuckle. "I'm a sick man, Renji…" he whispered._

_Yanagi shuddered and got off the bed, not wanting Inui to go any further. "I… have to go to class." He gathered his things and headed towards the door. "I'll be back for lunch."_

…

The door opened.

Yanagi looked up to see Inui standing there, looking like a shadow against the light from the hallway.

"What took you so long?" Yanagi asked, trying to keep his hands from trembling.

Inui didn't say anything. He just walked over, slowly, and knelt at Yanagi's side. By this time, Yanagi was shaking all over. Inui pulled him closer and kissed him long and hard.

"Sadaharu…" he breathed.

"It's been awhile… Renji." Inui smirked and pushed up his glasses. "You haven't changed a bit."

Yanagi frowned. "I wish I could say the same of you, Sadaharu."

Inui's sadistic grin stayed firmly in place. "Now what do you mean by that?"

As he looked at Inui, something in Yanagi snapped. He was angry. He hadn't paid much attention until now, but he had been hurting for five long years, distracted from the pain only by his search for the person who had ruined his life. Inui had taken all happiness away from him, had taken everything he had to give. And now he was standing over Yanagi with that evil smirk on his face, that triumphant smile that made it clear that he had no regrets at all.

"You left me, Sadaharu," Yanagi blurted out. "You were gone when I woke up that morning. You didn't even say goodbye."

"You wouldn't have let me go, if I had," Inui replied, looking a little more serious.

Yanagi didn't respond to that. Inui ran his fingers down the side of his prisoner's face.

"But I'm here now, Renji. If you want, we can pick up right where we left off."

Yanagi resisted the kiss that was planted on his cheek. "No, thank you."

"Why not? You haven't stopped loving me, have you?"

Yanagi felt his heart begin to ache. "I don't love _you,_" he muttered painfully.

"You said you did."

"That was different. You're not the same person anymore." Yanagi tensed up at the feeling of Inui's arms wrapping around his body. "Right now, all you are is a stain on the name of a man that I loved."

"Those are harsh accusations, Renji." Inui kissed him again. "Did you ever consider the possibility that what you loved was never the real thing?"

Yanagi's heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Then, I suppose..." He paused to take a deep breath in an effort to maintain his composure. "I was in love with a fantasy. But I'm not going to love a murderer."

The smirk came back on Inui's face. "I'm not so sure about that, Renji."

Yanagi turned away. "I am."

"It's your fault that I'm like this, you know." Inui let go and stood up.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"You just don't get it, do you?" Inui thrust his foot against Yanagi's shoulder. "It was because of my feelings for _you_ that I couldn't hide who I was."

Yanagi winced in pain. "What are you talking about?"

"I could pretend, Renji." The heel of his shoe dug further into Yanagi's shoulder. "I could hide the fact that I was a sadist. I could pretend that I was more interested in studying criminals than being one. I could act _just… like… everyone… else._" Each of the last four words was accompanied with a push from his heel. "But when I fell in love with you, I lost control. That was the _one thing _I couldn't conceal, and everything else fell apart."

Yanagi let out a cry of relief when Inui lowered his foot. But then Inui knelt beside him again and gripped the hair behind his neck until it hurt.

"I'll have my revenge, Renji," Inui hissed in his ear. "Because you ruined me, I'm going to ruin you."

Yanagi felt himself being forced into another kiss. Inui bit his lips and tongue, causing him to moan a little each time. Inui laughed.

"We can still be happy together, Renji," he chuckled. "You told me that you won't love a murderer, but I think I can change your mind." His hands slipped lower and lower down Yanagi's back.

Yanagi gasped. "Sadaharu…"

Inui jabbed his knee between Yanagi's legs, sending another cry out of the prisoner's mouth. Inui kissed him again, gripping his bruised shoulder. "Tell me, Renji… how badly do you want me to have you?"

Yanagi panted, his heart racing. He hadn't remembered how this felt, how much he wanted it…

"Terribly," he answered.

Inui smirked. "Beg."

"Please…" he whispered.

Inui dug his nails in. "I didn't _hear _you."

"Please," Yanagi said louder. Tears were pouring down his face.

"Would you kill for me to have you, Renji?"

Yanagi swallowed, still breathing heavily. "Kill… for you, Sadaharu?"

Inui kissed his neck. "If I took you out on the roof with a rifle right now, would you shoot somebody innocent if I promised to make love to you?"

Yanagi tried to pull away, disgusted. "What? No!"

"You wouldn't?"

"No. I'm not like you."

Inui laughed and pulled him closer. "Of course not. But you'd lie for me, wouldn't you?"

Yanagi thought. "Yes," he answered hesitantly.

Inui kissed him. "You'd cheat?"

"Yes…"

Another kiss. "Would you steal?"

"Yes…"

A longer kiss. "Would you hurt somebody?"

"Yes…"

"Would you die for me?"

"Yes," he admitted, wanting to cry.

Inui kissed him one more time, pressing so hard against him that he couldn't breathe.

"This takes me back," Inui began slowly, letting his hands wander. "Do you remember… that one night? You were up late, doing homework as always; I was distracting you…" He laughed a little, holding Yanagi tighter. "You got up to get something, and I grabbed you and pinned you against the wall. I started kissing you, and by the time I was done, you couldn't stand, Renji. Do you remember that?"

"Yes…" Yanagi allowed Inui to kiss his neck. "I never understood… how you could always do that to me…"

"I still can." Inui brought Yanagi's face up to his own and kissed him. It was exactly how Yanagi remembered it. He melted into Inui's arms.

"Now," Inui said, pulling back. "Answer me honestly. Would you kill for me, Renji?"

Yanagi was crying again.

"Yes," he whispered, mournfully.

Inui kissed his neck. "One person, maybe?"

"Yes."

"How about two?"

"Yes…"

"Three… Five… Maybe ten?"

Yanagi was trembling. "Yes…"

"Keep going, Renji." Inui moved his hands up and down Yanagi's body and continued kissing him.

"Ten… Twelve… Twenty-seven… Forty… Sixty-eight…" His voice rose as he tried to catch his breath. "Eighty-three… One hundred and eleven… One hundred and seventy-four… Oh, god; two hundred and fifty-one… Three hundred—"

Inui covered his mouth. "I think you can stop there, Renji." They kissed again.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," Inui began, letting Yanagi kiss him. "I'm going to give you the night of your life, and then I'm going to take you in my car to some deserted street far away from here. When we get there, I'm going to untie you and let you out, and we'll see if you can walk away."

"You're not afraid I'll turn you in?"

"At this point, no." Inui laughed. "Admit it, Renji. You'll come running back to me."

Yanagi felt another tear slip down his cheek.

"You told yourself you wanted to kill me… Didn't you?" Inui's voice had hushed to a whisper. "But that wasn't what you _really_ wanted… _This _is what you really want. You want us to be together like this for the rest of our lives." Inui started undoing Yanagi's tie. "We will be, Renji. It just won't be quite how you pictured it."

"You mean, you'll be forcing me into your dream, instead of me forcing you into mine."

"What do you know?" Inui smirked. "You can still read my mind."

He untied Yanagi's hands. "What are you doing?" Yanagi asked.

Inui threw the rope aside. "I'm going to take you on such a ride, you'll have to hold on for dear life."

…

"Another glass, sir?"

Sanada lifted his head from its resting place on the bar counter.

"Please," he muttered in response, pushing his empty glass to the bar tender. It was soon returned to him with another shot of whiskey. He sat up and took another swallow.

Just then, a well-dressed women sat next to him, accompanied by a strong-looking man. Sanada ignored them until the woman spoke.

"Rough night?" she cooed.

"Like hell," he replied, gulping down another sip.

Her flawless smile caught his attention. "Buy me a drink?"

Sanada just stared at her blankly for a moment. "Sure. Why not?" He flagged down the bar tender and let her order.

It was silent again until she got her drink. Sanada laughed darkly. "You could tell I was drunk enough to say yes."

She laughed a tinkly laugh. "You're not that drunk," she replied, taking a sip. "I've seen much worse."

Sanada's eyes wandered to the quiet man on the other side of her. "Why didn't you let your boyfriend buy it for you?"

"Oh, Taka-san's not my boyfriend. He's my bodyguard."

Sanada laughed out loud at the mention of the word.

Her smile didn't fade. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." He took another sip. "Absolutely… nothing. You must be rich, if you have a bodyguard." He eyed the diamonds that graced her neck.

"Yes. And, well, you can't be too careful." Her finger traced the rim of her glass.

"What's your name?"

"Fuji Shuusuke. Yours?"

"Sanada Genichiroh." After a moment and another sip, he added, "I hope you don't think I'm interested in you. I'm gay."

"Such a shame…" Sanada didn't know if it was because he was drunk, but Fuji's grin seemed to be getting wider.

Sanada closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his hand. Fuji leaned closer and whispered into his ear.

"I know what you're looking for."

Sanada chuckled a little, shaking his head, assuming that this was some sort of bad pick-up line. "What am I looking for?"

"Or, rather… _who _you're looking for."

He sat up and looked at her. Her blue eyes twinkled.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly.

She cupped her hand against his ear.

"Atobe… Keigo."

He stood up, startled. "What?"

She crossed her legs seductively. "Come home with me, and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Sanada looked around quickly to make sure no one was listening. The bar tender was far away, and there was hardly anyone in the room.

"You know where he is?" he asked her.

She just nodded.

He grabbed her shoulders. "Tell me. Now."

She giggled lightly. "I can't tell you _here_, Sanada-san." She looked around a little, then lowered her voice. "You understand."

Sanada sighed and let go. "Alright. I'll go with you." He set the right amount of money on the table and picked up his katana, which was leaning against the counter. Fuji glanced at it a moment before starting out the door with him following her.

"We can walk to my apartment," she said, when they got outside. "It's not far."

They entered a building a few blocks away and went up the stairs. Sanada thought that the place looked a little cheap for someone wearing so many diamonds, but he brushed the observation aside. They stopped when they got to her door.

"Thank you, Taka-san. You may go."

"Yes, ma'am." Taka smiled politely at her, but briefly eyed Sanada's weapons with a frown. He was gone a few seconds later. Fuji and Sanada went inside. The apartment was a little on the small side, but it was beautifully furnished, fit almost for a queen. Fuji told Sanada to sit and wait on the couch.

"Let me change into something more comfortable," she said. "These heels are killing my feet."

Sanada sat, though uncomfortably. Something wasn't right. How was it that this woman knew where Keigo was, when no one else had a clue? It seemed so suspicious…

On the other hand, he felt he didn't have a choice. He had to find Keigo…

Fuji returned a minute later, wearing a sheer white nightgown and lacy lengerie. Sanada panicked. "I think I've made a terrible mistake. I'd better go…"

She grabbed ahold of him before he could stand up. "You want to know where he is, don't you?"

"Yes…"

She smirked. "Then sleep with me, and I'll tell you."

Sanada swallowed. "I told you… I'm—"

"Funny thing, about that," Fuji interrupted. "It still works the same." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Then she carefully undid his belt and threw it onto the floor, with his weapons attached. Pulling on his jacket collar, she suggested, "Why don't you take all this off?"

Sanada took a deep breath and started undoing his tie. "You're direct, aren't you?" His eyes followed her as she walked over to her nightstand.

"I thought you'd appreciate us getting this over with." She poured two glasses of champagne. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure." He took the glass that was offered to him. Just as he was about to drink, he got a funny feeling of suspicion. To be safe, he pretended to take a sip and set the glass aside. He figured he was drunk enough to do this anyway.

Fuji took a sip of her own glass and let out a breath. "So," she began, pulling him up. "Shall we?"

"If I do, you promise you'll tell me," Sanada confirmed.

"I'll tell you as soon as you wake up," she promised, kissing him again. "On my honor, or you can cut my throat."

"Good." Sanada removed his jacket and took her to bed.

_Forgive me for this, Keigo…_

_I'm doing it for you._

…

Keigo felt like he had been waiting forever. They'd told him that only a day had passed, but it felt like much longer. He couldn't sleep very well, sitting in that chair, and with every passing moment he could feel his untimely end approaching.

It felt like when the alarm went off at his house, and his bodyguard wasn't there yet.

_Come on, Sanada…_

Except it had been more than thirty seconds. It had been hours and hours…

_Come on… Hurry up…_

The thought once again crossed his mind that he might never be rescued. And, once again, he forced it away.

_He'll come. He'll be here._

Ten more seconds passed. Or ten more hours… Keigo couldn't tell which…

_Where are you, Sanada?_

The door clicked open, and Keigo looked up. It was Tezuka.

"What do _you _want?" Keigo snarled.

"Still haven't learned to hold your tongue?" Tezuka said, narrowing his eyes. Something was dangling from his hand.

"What's that?" Keigo asked. He suddenly felt he had to know.

Tezuka's face cracked an ironic smile. He threw the object at Keigo's feet.

It was a black necktie, slightly discolored with blood.

Keigo's heart stood still.

"He's dead," Tezuka declared. "I had my girlfriend seduce him, then kill him."

Keigo's eyes didn't leave the tie at his feet. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't…

His gaze shot back up towards Tezuka. "You're… You're lying!" he cried. "Sanada would never fall for that!"

"He would when someone says they'll tell him where to find you."

Keigo couldn't hide his pain. "You tricked him?"

"Fuji said it was easy."

"How dare you!" Keigo struggled with such a force that the rope on his hands came up off the chair, though it tore slightly through his wrists. The chair fell forward with him underneath.

Tezuka didn't make any motion whatsoever, but watched as Keigo reached for the tie and drew it close.

"I won't bother tying you up again," Tezuka said, his voice becoming strangely soft. "There's no way you can escape if I lock the door."

Tezuka left and closed the door, causing all light to disappear from the room.

Hurting all over, Keigo untied the rope around his waist, then reached down and freed his ankles as well. He kicked the chair away and got up to a kneeling position.

"Sanada," he whispered.

He started weeping at the sound of himself saying that name. He held the blood-stained necktie close to his heart and cried for hours… or seconds…

He couldn't tell which, anymore…

* * *

-end of chapter 13-

Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned! The next chapter is the last one.


	14. In the Dark

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any characters. If you try to sue me, Inui will… Well… you don't want to know what Inui will do to you…

**Warning: **This fic contains shounen-ai, non-explicit yaoi, and non-explicit heterosexual relations.

**Author's Note: **I finally kidnapped my editor so I could post this… XD Anyways. Last chapter! Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy.

* * *

Fuji slowly opened her eyes. Carefully, she turned to look at the sleeping man beside her.

_He won't be awake for a while, _she thought with a smirk.

She slipped out from under the covers and positioned herself so she was above him, looking down. Silently, she reached down to her garter and slipped out the knife that was hidden there. She brought the blade close to his throat…

Sanada's eyes shot open. Next thing Fuji knew, her arms were being held behind her back and his katana was under her chin.

She was shocked. "How… How did you…?"

"I didn't fall for that drink you gave me," Sanada explained. "I've been awake even longer than you have. I got up while you were sleeping and got my sword so I'd have it beside me when you tried something."

He took the knife out of her hand and threw it onto the floor. Still threatening her with the katana, he forced her off the bed and led her to her desk.

"Write down the address."

She opened her drawer with shaking hands and looked for paper. "This seems a little rough for you."

"I think my anger is justified." He pressed the blade closer to her throat. "Write."

As soon as she was done, he took the paper from her hand and read it. The location seemed to make sense.

"If this is the wrong address, you're as good as dead."

She clenched her fists. "It's the right address."

After sticking the paper in his pocket, Sanada pushed Fuji up against the nearest bedpost. She didn't struggle. He cut off the ropes that were hanging on the curtains of the canopy and tied her to the post.

"I should just kill you now…" Sanada brought his katana against her throat once again; this time, his hands were trembling with anger. "After what you made me do… I should just kill you…"

He took a long, painful breath. Fuji's eyes were on the floor.

"I'm sure you deserve it, too," he continued. "No doubt you've done this to plenty of men. And I'm sure that you've rarely failed the way you did this time."

"Never," Fuji whispered, still not looking up.

He dropped his sword to his side. "Unfortunately, I have to keep you alive. You're the only lead I have so far, and if this address is wrong, I'll be back to ask you again." After another deep breath, he finished, "_Then_ I'll kill you."

Sanada turned away from her then. He looked around the room, almost confused at first, now that he could relax. He slowly gathered the rest of his clothes from the floor and got dressed. His hands still shaking, he pulled his clothes around him with a sense of desperation. All he could think about was covering himself, hiding the shame he felt at standing half-naked in this woman's bedroom, when the person he loved was waiting for him somewhere in the dark…

Pain gripped his heartstrings. "I should just kill you," he muttered again, without looking at her. Then he left and closed the door behind him.

Fuji waited.

She waited for hours. She didn't know what she was waiting for. She assumed that she was waiting for someone to come and get her, but her head didn't even tell her who that could be. She just stared at the floor, hour after hour…

Her heart ran through a whole string of emotions. At first, she found herself laughing out loud at Sanada's naïve misconceptions. What a drama queen. Storming out like that, holding on to that silly little notion called "love"… Sex wasn't that important; it wasn't that deep. It didn't mean anything, in the end. It was just a clumsy tumble in the dark, savage almost; full of panting and sweating and whispered, empty lies about that stupid thing called "love"…

Then Fuji cried. She wept for want of those lies again. There was a time, long ago, that she would have believed them. Part of her still wanted to, even. But she didn't…

Did she?

With tears still pouring down her face, she thought of Tezuka. She thought of all the lies he had ever whispered in her ear—she remembered them all.

She smiled then, believing them.

Moments later, though, they were just lies again. She started shivering from the cold that her thin nightgown could not protect her against, and trembling from dread of what was to come. Those whispers were lies. Tezuka didn't love her; she was just a tool. A tool that had never failed him before…

But she had failed him now.

Her breath grew short and painful. She imagined his face when she saw him again, imagined what he would say. It was frightening. No more whispers, no more sweet lies… Instead, there was cold, angry honesty, and a gun pointed at her forehead.

_Oh, god… He's going to kill me._

Fuji panicked. She should have given the wrong address… Then Sanada would come back, she could give another fake address, and then he'd kill her and it would be over. She'd never have to face Tezuka, the one person with whom her own whispers had become something more than lies…

And then, at least, he would be safe…

She'd never failed him before, but she had failed him now. She was only a tool. When tools failed, when they broke, like she had now, they were destroyed. Or worse; they were simply thrown away…

No, she decided. She was going to spare herself the pain.

Her right foot kicked around behind her, trying to find the top of the mattress. She found it, and tried to pull herself up to stand on it.

It didn't matter anyway, she thought as she slid up the bedpost. Her life was just as empty as her occupation of choice. Sex didn't mean anything, in the end; neither did she.

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

_Why are you crying? _she asked herself, gritting her teeth. _It's almost over._

She thought of Tezuka one last time, and the tears fell freely.

The rope around her neck found a niche in the carved post. She felt it catch firmly. She took her last breath and stepped off the mattress. Her feet never hit the floor again.

…

The car was as silent as death itself.

Yanagi sat in the passenger's seat of Inui's black sedan, hands bound uncomfortably behind his back. Through the window in the passenger's side mirror, he could see himself, what a mess he was. His hair was dissheveled, his cheeks were stained with dirt and tears, and his shirt showed spots of blood marking the places where his lover had gone a little too far in his excitement. His tie was gone… He had no idea what they'd done with it.

He looked over at Inui. The driver had a strange sort of half-smile on his face; he was obviously thinking about something. The sight of him affected Yanagi just as much as it ever had, maybe even more so. His heart pounded in his ears as he tried to decide what he was going to do.

_Sadaharu… I love you. But I'm not like you._

Everything he wanted was right beside him. He knew he would be happy if he could just be with Inui again, no matter what the circumstances. But he also knew that he would lose his mind, very literally. It was wrong. There was no logic in such a decision, only passion and selfish feelings.

On the other hand, it would be following his heart.

Yanagi leaned back and closed his eyes, fighting more tears. That phrase was so overrated.

It was romantic, it was idealistic. It was also foolish. In this case, it would lead to the death of more innocent people. These criminals would never be caught, if he gave up his hunt in order to join them. They'd even have another brilliant analytical mind to aid them further. It was simply wrong, in this situation, to "follow his heart," which so many people seemed to think was a faultless system for making choices.

It was what Inui had done, after all.

Yanagi fidgeted, loosening the rope around his hands that had been so carelessly fastened. He freed one hand enough to reach into his pocket. There, he found an old scrap of paper.

_Good. It didn't fall out._

He turned towards Inui, looking to see if the driver had noticed all of his movement. Inui had probably noticed, but he didn't seem to care. He was looking around, trying to find a good place to stop.

Yanagi slipped the paper onto the seat, beside him.

"Well, here we are. Officially in the middle of nowhere."

Yanagi glanced out the window. They had stopped on a dark, muggy street, lined with dingy apartment buildings and dark alleyways.

"I feel sorry, then, for the people who live here in nowhere," he commented sullenly.

Inui laughed, reaching over to untie his prisoner.

"Well, Renji. This is it." He tossed the rope onto the backseat. "What will it be? As if I don't know."

Inui slipped his hands around Yanagi's waist, pulling him carefully towards himself. He kissed him sweetly, almost lovingly, for a long time, until Yanagi didn't even remember where he was.

Then, without saying anything, Inui got out of the car, walked around it, and opened the passenger door. He helped Yanagi out of the car, whose legs were shaking slightly beneath him.

Yanagi stood there for a moment, breathless, looking at Inui. With every passing second, he could feel himself becoming more and more his slave.

Inui smirked. "Get back in the car, Renji."

Yanagi turned and ran.

He didn't look back, he didn't slow down. He couldn't. He had to keep running, or he knew he would change his mind. But this was the right thing to do. He was sure.

Inui was left standing there, speechless.

This wasn't possible.

It didn't make any sense… From what he knew about Yanagi, this should have never happened this way. He had considered every possibility, thought through every aspect of Yanagi's personality, and calculated the odds of every scenario. The chance of him running away, Inui had concluded, was absolutely 0 percent.

What had happened in those five years they'd been apart? Had they really both become so different?

Inui stormed back into the car, agitated. His hands hit the wheel, and he debated with himself. Tezuka was going to shoot him, that was certain. But, after what had just happened, Inui wasn't so sure he would mind. What was the point of running with a band of criminals, anyway, when no one was chasing him anymore?

As he started to turn the key, something on the seat beside him caught his eye. It was a little piece of paper. Something about it seemed strangely familiar. He picked it up and turned it over to read it.

"_Come after me."_

His heart stood still a moment. He remembered; of course he remembered. So much thought had gone into those three little words, which he had written with his own hand…

Had Yanagi left it there on purpose?

After careful thought, Inui decided that the answer was yes.

He started the car and put it into drive. There was no question in his mind about what he was going to do. He was going after Yanagi, going to chase him to the ends of the earth if he had to. As for what he would do when he caught up… He knew he would have plenty of time to think about it. Yanagi wasn't going to be found so easily. But Inui knew he had to try.

He had no choice.

Yanagi ducked into a deserted alley, certain to make the choice of location random. Sure enough, moments later, he saw the headlights pass. Then he escaped his hiding place and ran the other direction.

…

Sanada stood alone in the hotel room that he had checked into the night before. He was getting ready, waiting for midnight to come again. He was currently fastening the buttons and buckles of a black trenchcoat he'd pulled on over a brand new bulletproof vest. The protection had cost him a ton, but he knew he would need it.

The TV was blaring quietly behind him. He'd turned it on in an effort to drown out the tense silence when it had started to drive him crazy. He was looking for a pair of gloves when something on the screen caught his eye.

It was Keigo.

It was just a still snapshot, a photograph Sanada had never seen before. But it was _him, _looking as happy and beautiful as ever.

Sanada reached over and turned up the volume.

"…_been two days since the seventeen-year-old heir went missing. As of now, the police do not have any leads."_

Keigo's picture disappeared from the screen, and was replaced by a photo of another familiar face.

"_Missing also in this case is one of Japan's most renowned detectives, Yanagi Renji. Theorists are saying that he had most likely taken the job of Atobe Keigo's bodyguard in an effort to track down the very criminals who captured him. In an interview, the detectives working on the case said that his help would have been invaluable to their success. As it is, they and the police are stumped. According to their reports, a ransom call was made to Atobe's house at approximately 11:15 yesterday morning. The sum requested remains undisclosed, but Atobe reportedly refused to pay. He held a press conference earlier this morning."_

"_Atobe-san, many people are critical of your decision to refuse the ransom. Any comment?"_

"_No."_

"_Atobe-san, what sum were you asked to pay?"_

"_I'm afraid I can't answer that. I'm sure you understand what an issue it would be in regards to security."_

"_Do you have any hope of getting your son back?"_

"_Well… Of course, we will keep praying, and hoping against all hope. My wife and I would be eternally indebted to anyone who could bring him back to us safely. Officially, we're offering a reward of twenty billion dollars. But if someone brought Keigo back… I'm sure we'd be more than willing to give his rescuer whatever he wanted. We'd be much happier paying a hero than a criminal. Thank you."_

The reporters continued calling his name as he left the podium. Sanada turned off the TV, disgusted. The only reason Atobe was even offering a reward was probably because his wife demanded it. But maybe now Sanada could get his job back, at least.

As he turned to retrieve his katana from his suitcase, his cell phone suddenly rang. He picked it up on the second ring, after quickly noticing that the caller ID said "Pay Phone."

"Hello?"

"Genichiroh."

Sanada was stunned. "Renji?"

"Genichiroh…" Yanagi's voice was breathless. "You don't know how good it is to hear your voice…"

"I'm going to kill you." Sanada gripped his phone. "You promised that you wouldn't let anything—"

"Genichiroh, please. I don't have time for this. I'm sorry about what happened. But if you're going to save Master Keigo, there's not much time, and I need to tell you where he is."

Sanada let go of his anger, holding onto hope instead. "I already have an address…" He took the paper out of his pocket and read the information back to Yanagi.

"Yes… that's the place."

Sanada crumpled the paper slightly in his hand. "You promise he's safe?"

"Yes, I promise."

Sanada closed his eyes. Suddenly it seemed like everything was going to be alright, after all. "Thank you… Renji."

"You're going to do something reckless, aren't you, Genichiroh?"

Sanada hesitated, glancing at the sword that peeked out of his suitcase. "I suppose… you could say that…"

"Well, you're in luck; every criminal that you're after is wanted dead or alive. Just… be careful. Alright?"

Sanada swallowed. "I will."

Yanagi almost sounded like he was crying. "I would be going with you, Genichiroh… But I'm afraid I can't… I have to… There's someone… I just can't."

Sanada nodded to himself. "If I ever see you again, I'm still going to kill you."

Yanagi choked out a laugh. "I'll be looking forward to it."

The phone went dead.

Sanada shut his cell phone and slowly put it in his pocket. He stared into the distance for a moment, thinking.

It was the right address.

He grabbed his katana and went to look for his gun. He was going to be able to save Keigo, after all. His heart sped up, and he felt his adrenaline start pumping.

_Wait for me, Keigo…_

…

"Echizen, how are you going to carry all of that?"

Momoshiro stared at the huge pile of weaponry his roommate had stacked up in the middle of the room. Echizen looked at it for a moment and sighed. "I won't. I'm still deciding what I want to take."

"Just pick one." Momoshiro zipped up his duffel bag. He paused a moment before slinging it over his shoulder. "I feel kind of bad, jumping ship like this…"

"Momo-senpai, Fuji still hasn't come back. Obviously something's wrong. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around when the police come here to kill us all." Echizen grabbed one of the biggest guns and hoisted it onto his back. "I'm ready; let's go."

"Where are you two freaks going?"

Echizen and Momoshiro turned to see Kaidoh standing at the door.

"We're out of here. Don't even think about telling on us, Kaidoh-senpai." Echizen lifted his first leg over the windowsill.

Kaidoh glared back. "No one will miss a couple of cowards like you, anyway."

"Hey, Viper. Want to come with us?" Momoshiro offered, a little too cheerfully. "Let's face it; this ship is about to sink."

Kaidoh scoffed. "I wouldn't leave for anything. No one with any sense of honor would bail out."

"Kaidoh-senpai… Inui-senpai's not coming back."

Both Momoshiro and Kaidoh turned to face the speaker. Echizen was still straddling the windowsill.

"What did you say?" Kaidoh snapped.

"He's not coming back. He's in love with that detective." The fifteen-year-old's eyes stared strongly at Kaidoh. "Are you coming or not?"

Kaidoh's eyes were wide. They stayed that way as he answered, making him seem like he was in a trance.

"No."

Echizen jumped out the window and onto the fire escape. Momoshiro took one last look back at Kaidoh before following.

"See you around, Viper." And then he was gone.

Kaidoh stood there for a long time after they left, numb and silent.

"_He's not coming back."_

His feet carried him slowly to his own room. He stared long and hard at the empty beds. He felt just as empty, knowing that, like the bed in front of him, he would never be filled again. Without Inui, there was nothing… It was ridiculous, but it was true. What they had together, however sick and twisted and wrong it may have been, was the only thing Kaidoh had left to live for. And it was a lie.

"_He's in love with that detective."_

Unfeeling, he went to his dresser and opened the top drawer, where he kept his knives. He looked around for a blade that was sharp. When he found one, he set it on the bed and sat down next to it. Slowly, automatically, he peeled the bandage off of his left wrist. He didn't even feel it when he ripped off the final piece.

He was numb all over.

He couldn't stand it. Desperate to feel something again, he brought the knife to his wrist.

There would be plenty of pain in hell.

In one smooth stroke, he slashed down the length of his arm. Laughing darkly, he fell backwards onto Inui's pillow and let his life spill out onto the sheets.

…

Tezuka's fingers drummed against his desk.

He'd sent Kawamura out to find Fuji more than an hour ago. Inui had been gone longer. And things around the place had otherwise been strangely quiet. Oishi had just left his office with instructions to gather everyone in the building.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream. "Oh, my god! Kaidoh!"

Tezuka got up out of his chair and ran to the door. He found Kikumaru sobbing into Oishi's shoulder, just outside his office.

"He's dead… His blood is everywhere…"

"He killed himself," Tezuka suggested, holding back his agitation.

She nodded frantically. "He slit his wrist… Oh, god, he's dead…" Kikumaru's frantic words fell to nothing but sobs.

Tezuka looked to Oishi, who shook his head, bewildered. "I couldn't find Momo or Echizen anywhere. But their window is open…"

"Cowards," Tezuka scowled. "And to think I trusted that Echizen kid…" He stormed back into his office.

Oishi followed him, gently leading Kikumaru as well. "What do we do now, Tezuka?"

Tezuka opened his desk drawer, took out a small gun, and loaded it. "I suspect, since Fuji hasn't shown up, that someone is likely going to come find us. Get your gun and watch the door."

"Of course." Oishi's eyes, though nervous, glowed with loyalty. "Come on, Eiji."

They left. Tezuka was left at his desk, staring vaguely at the decorative swords that hung on the far wall. He felt strangely calm. Part of him had always imagined the day that someone would catch him and his band of criminals. He knew that, eventually, he would either be killed or carted off to prison. Neither idea really frightened him at this point.

He sat down again, and continued drumming his fingers on his desk; this time, holding his revolver in the other hand.

…

"Oishi, I don't want to go to jail."

Oishi glanced over at Eiji. They were kneeling on the ground in the front room, facing the door, hidden behind boxes. Eiji's eyes were full of fear and sorrow.

"I don't either, kitten."

"I'm scared," she continued, gripping her shotgun in both hands. "I don't want to be away from you."

Oishi set down his machine gun and held out his arms. "Come here."

Eiji obediently settled into his his embrace, and he held her. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too." He kissed her red hair.

Something hit the door from the outside with a loud bang. The pair shot apart and picked up their weapons.

Eiji's heart beat a mile a minute as the banging became more frequent. "Do you really think they're going to get through that door?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." The banging noise turned into gunshots. Bullets hit against the lock like loud, heavy rain. Oishi aimed his weapon.

With another loud bang, the intruder was through the door. He didn't come through exactly where Oishi had expected him to, and he was able to successfully dodge the shots from the machine gun. He disappeared behind a cement pillar in the corner.

"Come out, you coward." Oishi stood up and walked around the boxes. Eiji followed. "We've got you cornered."

The man didn't move. The criminals approached the pillar; Eiji to the right, Oishi to the left. The man peeked out the right side, and Eiji shot at him twice, using her last bullets.

"Damn, I thought I got him," she hissed, getting out a new cartridge. "I think he's wearing a vest."

Oishi turned to tell her to be quiet, but then he noticed the gun pointed at her from behind the pillar.

"Eiji! No!" He dove in front of her. The shot rang out and he slumped into her arms.

Eiji was brought to her knees under his weight.

"Oishi?" she said, quietly.

Her lover didn't answer. Tears came to her eyes as she stuggled to turn him over. When she did, she found that the intruder had gotten lucky, and had shot Oishi straight through his heart.

"No…" she breathed. "No! Oishi!" She fell on top of him, weeping bitterly.

Sanada stood over her and pointed the gun at her head. She was defenseless, with an unloaded gun at her side and Oishi's machine gun far from her reach. She looked up at the killer.

"You monster!" she sobbed. "How dare you?"

Sanada let his gun drop to his side.

"I'll have mercy on you," he said softly.

"Then kill me," she replied. Crying again, Eiji leaned on top of Oishi and kissed his face tenderly.

"I love you," she whispered, then repeated the phrase over and over again, as if there was no one else in the world but her and the one she loved.

Sanada watched her carefully. Everything about it reminded him of the morning Yukimura had died… He had kissed Yukimura's cold lips, just like that, with tears streaming down his cheeks…

He had pity on her and shot her in the temple. Her head fell onto Oishi's chest, and on her face remained a tear-stained smile.

Sanada stood there for a long time, looking, thinking. He didn't know their story; he knew he could never understand. What he did understand was her pain. Whether he should have killed her or not wasn't a question he could ever answer. But it was what she had wanted.

He knelt down and took up Oishi's arms, wrapping them carefully around Eiji's body. Then he walked away, leaving the dead lovers in their cold embrace.

His steps were uneven as he moved on. He'd never killed anyone before. Now, he'd killed two people. And for some reason, the haunting image of his last morning with Yukimura was now stuck in his head. He felt almost sick as he stumbled up the stairs and through the dark hallway. He had no idea where he was going. At any moment, he knew that someone could come out through one of those doors and start shooting at him. To his surprise, though, no one did. He came to a door that looked different from all the others, and, on something like an impulse, went inside.

He pointed his gun at the man behind the desk at the far end of the room. The man had already stood up, and was pointing a gun straight back at him.

Tezuka's glasses glinted in the dim light. "It appears we have a stalemate."

Sanada aimed and shot, knocking the gun out of Tezuka's hand.

"Not really."

Tezuka's hands remained in the air, and his expression cold and blank. "Fine. So kill me."

"Where is Keigo?"

Tezuka reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out a key. "Up the stairs, first door on the right." He dropped the key onto his desk, and walked slowly around to stand in front of it. "But I'm not going to give you the key that easily."

Sanada didn't waver. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you."

"I don't really have one. You will have to kill me if you want this key." After a pause, Tezuka added, "Of course… killing me like this would seem awfully cowardly. If you want to live with _that_ for the rest of your life, you may."

"Well, if I have to kill you, I see no better way to do it."

"You could at least make it fair."

"It was fair. We both had guns."

"Yes, but _you _arewearing a bulletproof vest." Tezuka's eyes narrowed. "I would have had to aim for your head, which is a much smaller target. So, you see, it actually wasn't fair at all."

Sanada took a deep breath, a little startled to find that Tezuka somehow knew about the hidden vest. "Fine. Let's say, hypothetically, that I wanted to kill you fairly. What would make it fair, in your opinion?"

"So you're not a coward." Tezuka began eyeing Sanada's katana. "Do you even know how to use that blade you're carrying?"

"Of course I do. I've studied kendo almost all my life."

"Impressive." With his head, Tezuka indicated the wall behind Sanada. "If you're so confident, put down your gun and hand me one of those swords, and we'll have a fair battle."

Sanada didn't lower his weapon. He didn't like the confident glow in the criminal's eyes. It was the sort of look that went beyond arrogance into pure, untainted certainty in one's own abilities. Obviously this man thought he could win a kendo battle. How much did he actually know?

"Don't be a coward, Sanada Genichiroh," Tezuka said, in a low, careful tone.

Chills ran up Sanada's spine at the sound of his own name. Of course he should have expected that his opponent knew who he was dealing with. But it was unnerving nonetheless.

He dropped his gun and set it aside. Cautiously, he selected a katana that was hanging on the wall.

Tezuka held out his arm to take the blade. He drew it and assumed a ready stance.

"Your move."

Sanada drew his own sword, then stopped to consider his options carefully. Sometimes the first move was the most important. Where was this man likely to have a weakness?

In a flash, he charged at Tezuka with an undercutting swipe, which was immediately and perfectly blocked. He continued swiping, using every technique he had learned, but his attempts were always countered. Tezuka's style was passive at best, but his blocks slowly started to throw Sanada off balance.

Sanada backed away suddenly to regroup, and they circled each other.

"You're quite good," Tezuka granted, staring him down.

Sanada was panting. He glared straight back at his opponent. "You're not attacking."

A barely detectable smirk manifested itself on the criminal's face.

"I don't need to."

Sanada charged at Tezuka again, but the older man countered with such a force that Sanada lost his footing altogether. Next thing he knew, he was being pinned against the desk with a katana at his throat.

Tezuka tried to bring his blade closer to Sanada's neck, but was blocked by Sanada's sword pushing against his own.

Sanada gritted his teeth. "What do you want with Keigo anyway? What are you going to do with him if you kill me?"

"_When _I kill you," Tezuka corrected, pushing harder. "I'm going to ask for my own ransom. I've heard that his parents are willing to pay at least $20 billion for him. I'll trick them, and as soon as the money's in my hands, I'll probably kill their son out of spite."

Angry, Sanada pushed Tezuka off of him. While Tezuka was still disoriented, Sanada's sword hit his with enough force to knock it out of his hand and throw him onto the ground. Sanada's katana was instantly placed beneath his chin.

Tezuka remained startlingly calm. "You're quite strong when you're angry."

Sanada ignored the comment. "Any last words?"

Once again, Tezuka was surprised to realize that he didn't feel frightened at all. His eyes stayed glued to the blade at his throat as he considered Sanada's inquiry. He could only think of one thing.

"Just a question," he began, quietly. "The woman who gave you this address… What did she say, just before she died?"

Sanada's eyes narrowed with curiosity. "I didn't kill her," he replied softly.

"You're lying," Tezuka shot back, looking him in the eye. But somehow, the accusation came off sounding almost like a question.

"I'm about to kill you. Why would I be lying?"

Tezuka silently searched Sanada's face for a minute, then closed his eyes.

"That's all," he whispered.

Sanada slit Tezuka's throat. The older man died without a single complaint.

Sanada stopped to catch his breath.

It was over.

He should have stayed on his guard; it really shouldn't have been this easy. But something in him knew that he had done all he needed to do, and the only thing left was to take the key off of Tezuka's desk and look for Keigo.

Feeling just as disoriented as he did when he'd tied Fuji to the bedpost, he picked up the key and looked down at himself. His coat and gloves were splattered with the blood of three people.

He couldn't face Keigo like this.

Sanada took a deep breath, and changed his mind. At this point, it didn't matter… If Keigo didn't forgive him, at least he would be safe; Sanada would take him home and everything would be alright… Sanada only wanted to see him again, to see him and make sure that he was safe…

He walked around Tezuka's body and out the door. What had the man said, again? Up the stairs… First door on the right…

When Sanada opened the door, he found Keigo lying on the ground sleeping, clutching something in his hands. Sanada sort of stumbled over to him and knelt at his side, shaking him gently.

"Keigo," he whispered. "Keigo… wake up…"

The seventeen-year-old opened his eyes.

"Sanada?"

The former bodyguard didn't answer.

Keigo sat up, bewildered. He touched Sanada's face. "Is it really you, or am I dreaming?"

"You're not dreaming," Sanada confirmed, after a moment. He held Keigo's hand against his own cheek.

Tears formed in Keigo's eyes at Sanada's gentle touch. "They told me you were dead…"

Sanada's eyes displayed a spark of confusion. Keigo showed him the blood-stained necktie.

Sanada took it with something like resignation. "This must be Renji's," he said quietly.

Keigo started crying, mostly out of relief. He tried to hide his face, but Sanada tipped his chin up and kissed away the tears.

"I love you," Keigo whispered.

"I love you, too," Sanada answered, still kissing him.

Keigo fell into his arms. "Don't take me home," he said, still crying a little. "Father will send you away… I might never see you again." He grasped the front of Sanada's jacket, feeling his rescuer pull him closer. "Take me with you. We can live together… I don't care where, just somewhere where no one will try to take me away from you."

"You need to go home," Sanada replied softly, causing Keigo to hold onto him tighter. He sighed a little. "I think your mother is desperate to see you again. We'll talk to your father… I think we can convince him to let me have my job back."

Keigo sat up and wiped his eyes. "Your job?" He actually chuckled a little in disbelief. "Is that all you want?"

"What do you mean?" Sanada asked gently, wiping the rest of the tears away.

Keigo's eyes glinted with passion. "That's all you want, is just to be my bodyguard forever? To have people see you as my servant, and nothing else, when you're so much more than that to me…"

"Yes." Sanada kissed him. "All I want is to protect you forever. I want to take care of you. I want to serve you and love you for the rest of my life."

Keigo stared into his eyes, wanting to cry again. "That's all?"

"That's all," Sanada answered, in a whisper.

More tears rolled down Keigo's cheeks. He hated himself for crying at a time like this, but he was so happy that he couldn't even smile; all he could seem to do was cry. All he could do was close his eyes and let Sanada kiss him again, let Sanada hold him and kiss him as if they would never have to stop.

Sanada pulled Keigo closer, wrapping his arms around the seventeen-year-old like a shield against the world, vowing to never let go. As he kissed his young master, he had the vague sensation that two angels were watching over them, smiling. And he knew now that his angel had been right all along…

Everything was going to be alright.

* * *

-end-

Hope you liked it!!

I've really enjoyed writing this fic. But after fourteen chapters and 189 pages, I'm glad it's done. XD Thanks so much to all my readers! Even bigger thanks to all of my reviewers! I really appreciate all of your kind comments. I don't deserve them, really! XD And HUGE thanks to my editor who made great suggestions and fixed a bunch of my issues…

Speaking of my editor (FallingSilver, author of _When I Come Back to You_)… We have a treat in store for all of you Tango Pair fans. We're working on a collaborate fanfic, set in the real PoT world this time, starring (guess who?) Atobe and Sanada. We've already started and it's turning out great! We'll be posting (hopefully) under the penname, "FallingMarshmallows" (haha isn't that a cute combination). So be watching for that…

Once again, thank you everyone for reading! Luv you all!


End file.
